


Star Fox: Inertia

by TempoWrites



Series: Star Fox: Inertia [1]
Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Anthropomorphic, Blow Jobs, Canon - Video Game, Canon Compliant, Canon Het Relationship, Character Development, Complete, Consensual, Cunnilingus, Cute, Developing Relationship, Dinosaurs, Don't Have to Know Canon, F/M, Fighter Pilots, First Time, Foxes, Furry, Het, Illustrated, Illustrations, Knotting, Love, Oral Sex, Outer Space, Pilots, Science Fiction, Spaceships, Strong Female Characters, True Love, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-07 19:05:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 68,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TempoWrites/pseuds/TempoWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Krystal, again a member of Star Fox and hero of the Lylat System, now faces a more personal challenge: can she forgive Fox for forcing her off the team in the first place?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krystal, again a member of Star Fox and hero of the Lylat System, now faces a more personal challenge: can she forgive Fox for forcing her off the team in the first place?

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 1  
By Tempo

Krystal, again a member of Star Fox and hero of the Lylat System, now faces a more personal challenge: can she forgive Fox for forcing her off the team in the first place? 

~ ~ ~

Cornerian fighter pilots had a saying: "The safest place aboard an assault carrier is outside in a fighter."

Watching the outdated ship from her cockpit, Krystal did feel safe, if a little bored. Above her, the cruise liner _Serenade of the Stars_ hung, plump and gleaming white, against the boundless depths of space. The rest of the Star Fox team flew out of sight, at various positions around the luxury ship, but the fighter's HUD projected little green arrows at their position on the canopy glass.

As her fingers drummed on the controls of her Arwing, she let her mind drift toward the cruise liner, to the few hundred tourists aboard. Their emotions crackled on the fringes of her consciousness—vague amusement, social jockeying, a few instances of mattress jockeying. Without meaning to, the vixen tuned in on a couple having sex, feeling a pang of jealousy and a creeping warmth between her thighs. She'd never met the lovers, didn't even know their species, but their entire cruise seemed an exercise in tender, passionate lovemaking. Quite distracting. She bit her lip. A few more hours in this cockpit and the joystick would start to look pretty tempting. 

A hard-won peace reigned in the Lylat System, which meant mercenary work got rare…and strange. They'd been babysitting this "extreme space cruise line" for over a week, with weeks to go, as it lumbered from planet to planet. The tourists didn't care—they'd paid for a chance to see the deadliest battle sites, the most tempestuous planets, and, presently, the most notorious former criminal hideouts in the asteroid belt. While having the legendary Star Fox as their escort no doubt sold extra tickets, the tourists now hardly batted an eye at the Arwings. 

Falco's voice echoed over the comm: "First they wanted to see the monsters living in the sun, now they want to go pirate-watching?" He clacked his beak in annoyance. The 3D setup of the cockpit speakers made him sounds like he was perched on the canopy. "I could think of plenty of better ways to waste their money."

"Since they're paying us, you'll get the chance." Fox McCloud's voice came from above and starboard. 

The falcon scoffed. "I'm not gettin' paid enough for this. I hate waitin' around and I really hate being gawked at." 

"We should be thankful to have work at all." Fox's video feed flickered onto the canopy glass. "It's been a while since the Cornerians threw us a bone." 

The vixen adjusted her trajectory to miss a slag of wreckage. This place really had seen some fighting. The Sargasso Space Zone had once hosted the pirate gangs formed from the dregs of Andross's army. The Cornerian navy had cleared out that rat's nest, leaving only scattered pockets of criminal activity. 

Slippy chirped onto the channel, the squat little amphibian appearing next to his wingmates on the display. "We'd better stay on our toes. If Katt thought this run was too dangerous…" 

Falco rolled his eyes. "'Cause she knew it would bite. This'd never happen if I picked our missions."

Fox smirked. "Falco, the last time you were in charge of a team, you named it the 'Hot Rodders'."

"Hey, that's a sweet name." The avian squawked. "It's fast, it's dangerous—"

"—and it happens to sound like a gay porn troupe." He smiled a toothy vulpine grin.

"Ya know what, foxy?" The bird tilted his head at the screen. "Up yours." 

Krystal clicked on her own cockpit camera. "I'd watch a vid from 'The Hot Rodders.'"

"Ya see this?" Falco extended his middle feather in front of the camera. "Take a screen cap and set it as your default display."

"It basically already is—whoa." A red light lit the underside of Fox's muzzle. Professionalism hardened his features. "We've got a collision alert. Come in, _Serenade_ : you've got some asteroids headed your way."

"We see them, Star Fox One." Small blue flames jetted from the side of the ship. "Evading now."

Arms crossed, the falcon grumbled. "Remind me why you get to be One?"

"Because my name is in the team name." The red fox adjusted his controls, looking around the canopy windows. "It's an industry standard."

"I should at least be Zero." 

"That would confuse our clients." Fox switched to general broadcast again. " _Serenade_ , I'm still showing a collision warning. Why haven't you moved out of the way?"

The maneuvering jets on the cruise liner fired again. "We moved, Star Fox One. We should be in the clear." 

The vixen pulled up the collision warning on her display. They had about a minute until the first impact. 

"Still showing objects inbound." Fox cocked his head in the direction of the still-unseen asteroids. "Falco, take 'em out."

"I'm on it." His Arwing tore off in a burst of blue light.

"Looks like three or four of them." Slippy croaked to clear his throat. "About a meter across."

Fox nodded. "We should be able to vaporize them."

"I could use some help here, Fox!" The light of weapons fire washed Falco's face a pale green. "And somebody teach Slippy to count."

Fox spiraled his Arwing down beside her. With the G-diffuser canceling out its inertia, the heavy fighter tumbled like a falling leaf. As it righted itself, he flashed a little smile that conveyed more than a comm channel ever could. "Krystal, let's give him a hand."

She couldn't help but smile back. "Copy that."

"Star Fox One, what's going on out there?" The commander of the cruise liner grumbled. "Those rocks are still headed right for us."

"Standby, _Serenade_. We've got this." Fox fired his engines and zipped after the falcon. "Stay here and stay sharp, Slip."

The frog snapped an earnest little salute. "You got it!"

Gunning the engines, Krystal followed at Fox's wing. Together, they wove around the house-sized asteroids, pebble-sized ones plinking off their hulls.

"Geez!" Falco cawed. Laser blasts lit the Meteo field ahead. "These suckers have engines!"

"Engines?" Krystal armed her laser cannons. "How many are there?"

"Ten? Fifteen?" More flashes splashed like lightning through the asteroid field. "I dunno—can only see the flares from behind and they keep shufflin' around."

The vulpine leader glanced down at his radar display. "Slippy, why aren't we detecting energy signatures?" 

"It wouldn't take much of an engine to move small meteors." The startled frog reached to adjust some controls. "I'll recalibrate our sensors to look for smaller engine wash."

She checked the impact timer, nearing half a minute. "No time; we'll have to target them manually."

Fox nodded, chasing down asteroids as they scattered from their previous trajectory. "Affirmative; fire at will."

"Let's take 'em all out!" The avian vaporized half a dozen rocks, most of which had engines. 

"Where did these even come from?" Krystal swung in behind Falco. Each modified meteoroid had a trio of maneuvering jets affixed to it. With a breath to steady her hands, she focused on one of the tiny lights and squeezed off a shot. A silent flash of vaporization and the rock careened sideways into a minor planetoid. "This feels like a diversion."

"Ya think?" Falco flicked down his targeting eyepiece. "Boy, wish I was a psychic."

Her ears flicked back. "Just take them out before—"

"Drones!" Slippy seemed about to croak from surprise. "Fox, we have drones cutting into the _Serenade_ 's cargo bays! And ours!"

"Geez…" A few hundred meters above them, McCloud annihilated another group of targets. "Can you take care of it?"

"No! Maybe! I don't know!" 

"Hey Slippy, ya know that trigger you installed that fires lasers?" Falco chuckled. "You should pull it."

"Very funny." Muzzle flashes lit the frog's flustered face. 

"Krystal, leave the asteroids to Falco and me." Fox's Arwing pitched up into a U-turn. "Take care of those drones."

The vixen broke off, checked her radar, and burned back toward the _Serenade_. "I'm on it."

Not for the first time, Fox's voice softened: "Be careful." 

She switched off her mic, sighed, and switched it back on. "Yes, sir."

The vulpine froze for a second in the HUD, then his face returned to a mask of concentration. 

Falco grumbled at the _Serenade_. "And if ya look out yer port window, you'll see the saviors of Lylat riskin' their lives."

"Sensor recalibration complete!" Slippy croaked with pride. "Here it comes."

Krystal switched off her visual comm and focused on ducking asteroids. The white bulk of the cruise liner came into view. Dozens of red dots popped up on her radar, all clustered around the cruise liner. "Lovely…" Then dozens more appeared, then a few duplicates of the _Serenade_.

"They've got us jammed!" Slippy croaked in alarm. "Long-range comm inoperative—radar's down too!"

Fox gave a dark chuckle. "Pretty good tactics."

The frog swept up from under the belly of the _Serenade_. "Radar jamming is coming from the cruise ship!"

"Okay, so terrible tactics." McCloud growled. " _Serenade_ , turn off your radar jammer. Now!"

"Negative, Star Fox One." With his lumbering ship at full burn, the _Serenade_ captain sounded scared, but kept an iron grip on it. "Company policy—"

"They already know where we are. We need to know where they are." The vulpine's tone got harder. "Turn off the jammer."

"We'll do what we can." The captain breathed a haggard wheeze. "It automatically stays on for an hour."

Krystal could feel McCloud grit his teeth through the void of space between them. Clear of the field for the moment, she cut the engines and zoomed in with her eyepiece. The can-shaped drones gleamed in the docking lights of the _Great Fox_ and, a ship's length away, the _Serenade_. Tiny torches arced into both sets of bay doors, sparks of molten metal flickering against the black depths. She decided to clear the ones on the luxury liner first, knowing their carrier had no one in the cargo hold to get blown into space, as well as nothing of value. 

Clearing her mind, she locked the targeting reticle to each one in turn, unleashing a volley of plasma magnetically tuned to the bogeys. They popped with a crackle of static over the comm; the signature sound of a core breach. 

Slippy's voice bounced into the channel. "Before the radar cut out, I detected at least a dozen drones, along with some kind of larger ship. All in poor repair and with Venom IDs."

Falco muttered: "We shoulda kicked Andross's monkey tail harder—left too much for these lowlifes to salvage." A light flared at the corner of her vision. He crowed a laugh. "I got the last one!" 

"Great. Come help with mine." Fox hesitated then continued, softer: "Krystal, we're cleaning up the stragglers—"

"Hold still and let me shoot you!" Falco cried out in predatory glee. 

"—you okay down there?" 

The vixen squeezed off a few more shots, then watched as the final drones burst in clouds of pale fire. " _Serenade_ bay doors clear."

"Slippy here, they're moving too fast! I keep hitting the _Great Fox_!"

Krystal rounded the gleaming hull of the _Serenade of the Stars_ just in time to see the cargo doors of the Great Fox tumble off in silence. A rush of detritus billowed into space, peppered with barrels, crates, and spare parts. The drones wasted no time in snapping up whatever they could get their claws on and rocketing off. The swarm of little robots disappeared with their loot among the asteroids.

In his Arwing below her, Slippy watched in shock as a case of cream-filled snack cakes detonated and froze against his cockpit glass. "Uh-oh…"

Fox growled a little. "Slip, I get nervous when my mechanic says 'uh-oh'."

"Slippy's hit!" The frog squeaked in distress, his Arwing adrift. "I'm flying blind—frosting everywhere!"

"…Say again?"

Paws gripping the controls, the blue vixen plowed through the cloud of food wrappers, dust, and shed fur. "I'm chasing the drones that stole our cargo." 

"Our cargo?!" The bird gave an indignant squawk.

A final burst of color glinted in her rear display. Fox gave a quick sigh and tried to keep his cool. "That should be the last of the asteroids. We're on the way."

"Understood." With a feather touch, she wedged a wing under the drone towing a water barrel, then jerked the joystick sideways and catapulted the machine out of sight. The freed barrel bumped against the underside of her fighter before she pitched the craft down to crush another drone, rescuing a fuel cell. 

Ahead of her, the rest of the drones zipped off, some carrying blasters, others crates of ration packets, still others spare parts and tools. They seemed to be heading in a single direction. 

She followed.

A rust-red hulk emerged from behind a cluster of boulders. A line of drones paraded into large bay doors open along the keel. 

At the prow, heavy guns aligned on her. 

Plasma bolts streaked through space, searing, angry, and silent save for a hiss on the radio. 

"Dang!" A quick double-tap of the thrusters kicked the ship into an aileron roll. The star field careened around her, followed by a scattering of deadly yellow light. When the ship stabilized, she felt obliged to be dizzy, but wasn't. Instead, she hit the boost, cruised under the ship's firing arc, and fired at its underbelly. "They've got a Sargasso battlecruiser!"

Her shots crackled along the energy shields. Diving for cover behind a ship-size boulder, she unleashed a few more shots, but to no avail.

As the last of the drone scooted aboard, the engines at the back of the craft glowed. A hum of energy translated over the comm.

Fox and Falco whipped around the last cluster of asteroids, weapons already charged. Volleys of green light rained down on the pirates, only to disburse along the shields. In the blink of an eye and with a flash from its hyperjump engines, the lumpy red craft streaked off into the depths of space. 

As avian profanity echoed over the comm, Krystal tipped her head back against the neck supports, her fighter drifting among the rubble. Her breath caught up to her. She wasn't sure how long she'd been holding it. The feelings of the tourists returned too, more amused than before. The couple had finished their lovemaking, now laying in afterglow, oblivious to the battle outside. 

On the control surface before her, the radar screens degaussed and just showed the Arwings, the _Great Fox_ , and their clients, who had just now decided to stop jamming them. 

~ ~ ~

Hours later, the team sat in the briefing room, surrounded by bare bulkheads, seated in scuffed chairs, and around a scored steel table. Several gaps remained where military tech had been pulled before the ship had been sold, dangling wires draped out like vines. 

"We can replace what we lost." Fox scrolled through an inventory list of what they'd recovered. "Food, fuel, the spare targeting computer: mostly non-essential stuff."

"What'd ya mean 'non-essential'?" Falco pounded the briefing table. "Those suckers stole my feather mags!" 

Fox looked at him with mild exasperation, Krystal with amusement, and Slippy with undiluted curiosity.

He spread his wings in aggravation. "They're literature!"

Tail swishing, the vixen said nothing and simply basked in the wave of embarrassment rolling of the falcon.

"Look Falco, I'm saying it could've been a lot worse."

"We shoulda boarded their ship." Feathers ruffled, he tapped a boot against the bulkhead. "Probably better than this rust bucket." 

"Hey!" Slippy bounced in his chair. "It's not that bad."

The vulpine patted a paw on the table before Slippy to redirect the conversation. "Falco, where're ya going with this? How would we have boarded it?"

Falco grinned. He counted down the steps on his primary feathers. "Smart bomb their shields, fly in after the drones, storm the ship." He leaned back, wings behind his head. "Badda-bing badda-boom."

"Possible, but risky." Fox leaned in, his fingertips set on the steel table. "Problem one: taking an unknown ship with just our blasters. Two: the navy would impound it as evidence when we turned them over." His muzzle tilted out the porthole at the gleaming cruise liner. "Three: our reputation's the only reason we got the _Serenade_ contract; we're not plundering in front of them."

"Okay, okay." He waved a wing. "So we keep the rust bucket for now." 

The automatic door shuddered open, ROB clanked and clattered into the room. "Transmission from _Serenade of the Stars_ : Please accept these buffet coupons as a token of our thanks." Paper vouchers printed from his chest on a narrow curl of paper. 

"Hey look!" The avian tore the coupons free and slapped them onto the table. "That makes it all worthwhile."

"I'll take your ticket, Falco." The squat amphibian shrugged, chipper as ever. "I like their buffet."

He slid the coupons away. "Ya already licked all my snacks off your Arwing."

The frog blinked. "You said you didn't want them!" 

With low whistle of resignation, Fox skimmed the inventory list, then tapped it on the table. "I think we're done here." 

"Good." Falco stood and nibbled at a stray feather on his wrist. "I got other stuff goin' on today."

Toying with the beads in her hair, Krystal smirked. "Literary pursuits, I'm sure."

With a crass caw, he crossed his wings. "Like we don't know where yer staff's—"

McCloud shot him a serious glance, ears back. 

His beak clacked shut. 

While she hadn't liked where Falco had been going with that comment, having Fox save her like that brought out a tangle of emotions.

"I'll bill the client for our lost inventory." Fox pulled up some info on the display. "Just give me a total, Falco."

His beak opened to snark.

The vulpine flashed a toothy smile. "The real total."

Falco rolled his eyes, smoothed his crest, and stood up. 

The robot clattered after him. "Do you want to play Gyromite?"

"No, ROB." Not looking back, the bird strode out of the briefing room.

It clanked down the hall beside him. "Do you want to play Stack-Up?"

"No!" His footsteps faded down the corridor. "I can't believe we lost an entire carrier and all those pieces for your stupid games survived." 

"…Do you want to play Gyromite?" The door did not shut behind them.

Back at the briefing table, Slippy grabbed his buffet coupon and smiled a wide amphibian smile. With the slap of bare frog feet against the deck, he ambled off toward the hangar.

His departure left the vulpines alone together. Krystal resisted the urge to probe his feelings; it felt wrong somehow, like they'd lost that part of their connection. Instead, she cleared her throat. "Are you busy, Fox?"

"I just have to write up today's 'incident' and send it to our client. And to the Cornerian Navy." He looked up from the display pad. "Why?"

Her hand waved off his concern as she rose. "I'll find you when you're done."

His ears lifted. "How'll you know?"

With a pause at the doorway, she tapped her temple and pointed his way.

Fox gave a sheepish smile. "Right."

Rounding the corner, she stepped out into the corridors of the _Great Fox II_ and followed the sound of Slippy's flippered feet to the hangar.

~ ~ ~

"While I'm doing Arwing maintenance, is there anything you want adjusted on yours?" Slippy donned his tool belt, which somehow made him look even shorter.

"Only the pilot." Krystal patted the side of the _Cloud Runner_. "Guess I'm still not used to flying without inertia. Are you sure you can't turn the G-diffuser down ten percent or so?"

"I don't know…" He waddled up, set a ladder against the Arwing, then looked at her with concern. "Fox would get pretty mad if I liquified your organs."

"I suppose I wouldn't be happy either." She rested her arm against the cool metal of the nosecone. "What was Fox like while I was gone?"

"He spent a lot of time in his quarters. Peppy thought he was crying. Falco thought he was masturbating." After pulling a panel from the side of Fox's craft, he thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess they could both be right."

Her tail swished. Small comfort for being kicked off the team, but at least she'd been missed. "Poor guy."

The frog touched a control surface behind the panel and frowned. He pulled the whole console free. "Sorry, was that too much information?"

"It's fine, just don't tell Fox."

"I think it's great you guys are back together. Or whatever you are." Trotting back to the workbench, he pulled a screwdriver from his belt and went to work. "Falco said it was stupid that you broke up without ever being together."

"For once, he and I agree."

"Me too." The frog's deft digits opened the console's case and unplugged a few wires. "Mammal reproduction is inefficient enough already."

The vixen chuckled. "I'm glad you stick to improving fighter efficiency."

"And I'm glad you're back with Star Fox." The frog grabbed another spanner, tightened something inside the case, then snapped it closed. "When we're an all-male team, I start to turn into the girl."

She patted his shoulder. "Oh Slippy, just because you're a sensitive soul…"

"No, I literally turn into a girl. It's an amphibian thing, to maintain breeding ability in a mono-gendered population." He tightened a final screw and turned the console over to admire his handiwork. "I try to avoid it; there's this weird transitional phase where I can't get anything done because of the hormones."

Krystal had absolutely nothing to say to that. She looked around. "My forced retirement got me thinking: have you boys ever thought what you'd do if you couldn't make ends meet? Even selling a run-down carrier would buy some nice houses."

"Fox mentioned that, but he's not sure what he'd do."

"Teach at the Flight Academy?"

Slippy shrugged. "Falco kept bringing up retiring to race those plasma-powered hovercars." He returned the console to its home panel. "But then Fox said something about a driver's license and Falco did that pouty thing where he pretends he isn't mad."

"I see."

"I know what I'd do." He swung the panel shut and locked it. "Go back to working at my dad's lab. Purpose-built equipment, generous budget, full staff, nightcrawlers in the break room…"

"What keeps you here?"

"I don't want purpose-built equipment, a generous budget, or a full staff. Around here, I get to be creative with what I've got." Slippy licked a finger, then rubbed out a scuff on the fuselage. The scuff reacted a lot like freeze-dried banana frosting. The frog licked his finger again, then smiled over his shoulder at her. "Wouldn't turn down some nightcrawlers, though."

~ ~ ~

An hour or so later, Fox tidied his quarters, trying to settle his nerves. Regret clung like drag as he kicked a pile of red scarves into the closet. Part of him insisted he'd blown his shot with Krystal, but would she really come back just to make them both miserable? He'd never been an ace at reading people, but she threw him for a loop. Were all psychics this stoic? Biting his lip, he straightened the bedsheets, his whiskers, and some stacks of papers on the desk. 

A tinny chime rung at his door.

He double-checked his fur in the mirror, then stood up straight while trying to seem relaxed. "Come in."

The door hissed open. The blue vixen stood in the doorway. She'd changed out of her flight suit, wearing the shorts, sandals, and modified vest that comprised her interpretation of the team uniform. The white patterns on her fur peeked, half hidden, from under the fabric. Those aqua eyes had a tighter lock on him than any targeting computer ever could. "Hey."

He swallowed, telling himself to calm down. They'd chatted in his room a hundred times, but not once not since she came back to the team. "Hey."

Her tail swayed as she slunk into the room, then brushed a deft paw over the door control. The metal plating slid in, scuffed grey against her vibrant form. An etched necklace and hairband glinted gold in the pale light. She let out an anxious breath. "A moment together at last."

An unsteady smile rose to his lips. "Oh… uh... yeah." Taking a seat on the bed, he gestured to the lone chair at his desk.

"You're looking good, Fox." The vixen sat and let her gaze linger on him. A moment later, she broke eye contact and curled that silky tail close to her body. Arms crossed, she nodded toward space. "Out there, I mean."

"You too." Heat rushed his ears. "I should've charged more for this contract."

"Defense and a show?" She crossed her ankles.

"They think we're miracle workers." Palms on the blankets behind him, the vulpine leaned back. 

"As you said, we have a reputation."

McCloud glanced over to his case of medals, one of the few things mounted on his walls. Replicas, of course; the originals had gone down with the _Great Fox I_. "I wish our lives were simpler sometimes."

"I imagine most heroes do. For most Cornerians, though, you're forever frozen at the ceremony where you got your medals." She ran well-groomed claw tips down her exposed lower thigh. "Did you know there's a rumor the whole Star Fox team has artificial legs? That you had them removed to prevent you blacking out."

Fox nodded, his tail swishing over the bed. "Anyone who believes that needs to study up on G-diffusion." 

"That's not why the rumor exists. It exists because people like the idea someone would do anything to protect them." Her muzzle inclined at the medal case. "People like heroes."

"I'd feel like more of a hero with my father's _Great Fox_." He looked around the metal box that served as his quarters. "And not scraping by from job to job."

"People are less enthusiastic about everyday heroics." 

"I know, but I miss fighting monsters and tyrants; I almost feel sorry for crooks like we saw today." He nodded over his shoulder. "If my life had gone differently, I could be just as desperate."

"Everyone who fights is desperate for something, even if they don't know what it is."

"You're younger than I am." A genuine grin found Fox's muzzle. "How'd you find the time to get so wise?"

"When you can read everyone else's emotions, you either become a sage or a sociopath." She cocked her ears and lifted her chin. "You should be thankful I'm content with being wiser than you."

"I need that sometimes."

Slowly, she shook her head, the thin chains of her headband tinkling. "You need a kick in the tail sometimes."

"That too, especially since Peppy retired." He shrugged, then found himself caught in those teal eyes. A smirk crept to his lips. "About the tourists: they're treating our fighting off pirates as a stage show. We could always let them get kidnapped for ransom, then swoop in to save them. They'd appreciate us then."

Her tail relaxed, tracing the clean steel deck in amusement. "If we start counterfeiting heroism, we should just hang up our flight suits."

He shrugged. "What if we show them something really amazing, then? Something they didn't pay the tour company to show them?"

"You've always got a plan, haven't you?" With a light laugh, her sandals whispered to the floor. She glanced at the comm on her wrist. "I'd better go back to watching our client before they steer themselves into a star. I'll give some thought to what might impress them, though." She stood.

Fox got to his feet too. He thought about hugging her. They'd hugged before, but that was before he kicked her off the team. They'd hugged when he convinced her to come back, but that was a moment of wild emotions. "Krystal…"

She paused at the doorway.

He straightened, stiff as he'd been at Academy inspection. "It was good…us talking."

Her paw rose, then pulled back to guard her heart. She settled on a soft smile. "Yes." Her gaze met his. "It is." With the hiss of a door opening, the blue vulpine slipped out into the corridor. 

Long after the door closed, long after her subtle scent faded from the air, Fox stood in the bare little room. His tail swayed above heavy flight boots. Life might be messy and unpredictable, but at least that meant he couldn't justify losing hope. And, as fighter pilots had known for centuries, despair meant certain failure, while hope gave you a shot.

Fox liked having a shot. 

~ ~ ~

So I finally caved and wrote _Star Fox_ fanfiction. We all knew this would happen. X )

Art: Zaush (Used with permission.)  
Edits: Slate, T-kay, Apollo, Flack, Sillyneko345, Anakuro  
Proofs: Thefunkyone, Darkdragon452, Dracovar, Archaesophilia

~Tempo


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fox McCloud struggles to repair a rocky relationship with Krystal while dealing with far more enigmatic dangers in the depths of the asteroid belt.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 2  
By Tempo

Fox McCloud struggles to repair a rocky relationship with Krystal while dealing with far more enigmatic dangers in the depths of the asteroid belt.

~ ~ ~

Fox McCloud watched from the hangar walkway as the _Cloud Runner_ sailed into dock. Out the bay doors of the _Great Fox II_ , he saw a number of white shuttle pods lift up from the surface of Sauria and putter back to the cruise liner.

As mooring clamps locked onto her Arwing, Krystal popped the canopy, climbed out, yanked something from the cargo compartment, and stormed up the catwalk. Her tail lashed back and forth with every step, her expression dark as interstellar space.

He hit the control to seal the hangar bay doors and stood waiting.

Krystal walked up and shoved a basket of fruit into his arms.

He looked down, then at her and cocked an ear. "Angry fruit basket?"

"The fruit basket was the only good part of that trip."

"Krazoa spirits didn't show?"

"Oh, they showed up." Jewelry clinking, she crossed her arms over her armored bikini. "And our guests, at the most revered site on Sauria, in front of the leaders of every dinosaur tribe, accused us of showing them second-rate holograms."

"That must have gone well." McCloud fell in stride and tried not to stare at her loincloth or spill the overfull fruit basket.

"If Tricky hadn't been there, I'd've had a riot on my hands!" Her paw steadied the retracted staff, holstered over her naked thigh. "I can't help they're energy-based."

"You gave it a shot." He nodded, looking ahead. "It's not your fault our clients have decided the Universe is boring."

"They're insufferable!" The blue vixen clenched her fists. "I came out in my traditional Saurian outfit and the crowd split up into people who were outraged and people who pretended to be outraged while they ogled me."

Her fellow vulpine continued down the walkway beside her. "Dinosaurs aren't big on modesty."

At the exit, she paused and cast a glance around the cavernous deck. Even with spare parts, a squad of Arwings took up less than a tenth of the massive hangar. The carrier had been designed to catapult its dozens of fighters into battle as soon as it dropped out of light speed. "I think Falco's right—we should be running cargo."

"That would be easier, but let's take care of these guys first." He tilted his head at the bay doors, just as they closed on the gleaming white luxury ship.

The main reactor thrummed far under their feet, different enough from the original _Great Fox_ to be noticed. They continued down the corridor, past the crew barracks. Falco had claimed the entire thing as his personal roost in return for letting Fox have the captain's quarters. They passed Slippy's quarters next, one of the old officer berths, though he just as often slept in his crate of mud in the hanger. Krystal's sandals rang against the deck. "If we start carrying anything of value, we'll need better defenses."

"Slip's on that." Fox hit the call button for the lift. "At the very least, he's rigging up a smart bomb launcher."

The doors opened and they stepped inside. The elevator made its usual worried groan as it took them down through the decks. "That wouldn't have helped us against those drones." Her eyes avoided his, tracing instead along a deep gouge in the bulkhead. The carrier's years of protecting Lylat had left their wounds, as had its decommissioning. "We're stretched thin covering the _Serenade_ without worrying if we'll have a carrier to come back to."

"I worry about that…" Arriving on her deck, he followed her into the corridor. The lights flickered above them. The hum of the reactor fell into the distance here, though other sounds sprung up in its place: the whir of old air pumps overhead, the clatter of loose deck panels underfoot, and stranger mechanical sounds deep within the bulkheads.

The door opened to her quarters. Purple fabric draped the bulkheads. Potted plants sat on the floor, lush under gentle sun lamps. The vixen heaved an exasperated breath as she sat on the bed, then eased onto her back. Her eyes closed, the only movement the rise and fall of her chest.

Fox stood, paw on the doorway. His voice softened. "Wanna be alone?"

"No." Her body remained still.

"Wanna talk?"

Eyes still shut, she nodded.

He stepped inside. A thick rug muffled his booted footsteps. The door hissed shut behind him. A starscape hung outside the window, framed by silk curtains and slatted safety blinds. Deciding this probably wasn't the kind of conversation you had with a fruit basket in your paws, he set it on her dresser. He looked back to the bed, which took up a good portion of the quarters, and the vixen sprawled across it.

A long, unsteady breath escaped her muzzle. "It's not even really about them, it's about us."

"Us…" McCloud stood, paws folded. "We always used to talk."

"When you weren't making unilateral decisions that affected both of us." Those aqua eyes opened on him. "Sit down."

He found his way to the small, plush sofa, and sat. "You're still…?"

"Angry?" She crossed her arms. "You kicked me off the team, Fox. This was the only home I had."

His ears and heart fell. "I wanted to keep you safe."

Her eyes narrowed. "You don't think it's selfish, assuming you're the only one who felt that way?"

"I hadn't thought about it that way." His tail curled onto his lap. "I was surprised you were willing to come back."

"So was I." In a trio of graceful motions, she kicked off her sandals and curled up on the bed. "I'm not fond of being put on a shelf for safekeeping."

"I'm sorry, Krystal." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You know I'd never mean to hurt you."

"I know." Her tone held no touch of surprise. Piece by piece, she set her jewelry on the nightstand between them.

His glance traveled up her sinuous arm to that kind face. "Why'd you come back?"

"The fate of the Lylat System." She smiled, just a little. "And I wanted to be with you, even if you're an idiot."

"Be with me?" Heat flooding under his fur, he stammered. "You know, I… You…"

With patient interest, she sat up and studied his expression. "Is there something...you wanted to say?"

"I—" Fox broke eye contact and blinked back unexpected tears. "Thanks for coming back."

Her paw touched his. She drew him from the sofa and into her embrace. "I'm glad I did." Her paws stroked his back, not letting go. That delicate chin draped over his shoulder. "We're both sort of alone in the Universe."

Sitting on her bed, he held her tighter. "I don't feel alone."

"Good." A note of satisfaction rumbled against his shoulder, her tail swaying over the bed. "Neither do I." She pulled back just a little, though her paws stayed on his sides. "You've been very cautious about me. Not what I expected from an ace pilot."

Fox shrugged. "As a rule of thumb, I ask myself what Falco would recommend, then do the opposite."

She rolled her eyes, probably in the exact direction of Falco at that moment. "He'd be honored to have taught you so much."

"What about you?" His paw rested on her thigh, then tensed as he felt her bare fur, then decided jerking it away wouldn't do at all. "You've had me in your sights for a while."

"It's rare I find a place I feel at home." A distant sadness touched her expression. "When I find that, I'm careful with it, because I know how fragile it is."

Fox looked around the battered bulkheads. "Yeah…"

"I like knowing I'm not cursed to keep losing it." With slow ease, her muzzle brushed his cheek, exploring. "Take off your boots."

He cocked an ear. "Huh?"

Those electric eyes shone a smile at him. "To pay me back for kicking me off the team, you're going to hold me; I don't want you ruining the sheets."

A blush blazed under his fur. "O-okay." The vulpine, discovering the impossibility of taking off his boots with dignity, hurried out of his blaster belt and comm gauntlets. A quick check revealed nothing else too hard to cuddle with, outside of his trousers, so he glanced over his shoulder.

The blue canid met his gaze, bright white teeth set on her lip. Her limber body slipped back on the bed, leaving him room.

Tail tight against his body, he lay down beside her. His hands slipped around her, her fur soft as starlight against his paw pads. "Like this?"

That slender muzzle brushed along his, their whiskers mingling. "Mmmhmm." She reached around him to click a button on the nightstand. The room's lights dimmed to darkness. Through the window, stars shone on, their light having traveled lifetimes and light years to meet here in her quarters.

"You know…" Even after years of hearing her flirt with him, her whisper in the dark chased an unexpected thrill through him. "I was quite taken with you when I first joined the team." Her supple hands traced under his vest, tracing over shirt fabric. "Not everyday a girl has a hero swoop in at her hour of need."

His shy ears drooped. "You barely knew me."

"I read your feelings the whole time you saved Sauria. You didn't have that advantage." Curiosity crept into her tone. "Why did you help me? You didn't know who I was; I could've been evil."

He shrugged, tail tucked close to his legs. "I figured someone helping me keep the planet from exploding meant well enough."

"You were in my dream, when I was imprisoned." Her fingertips traced his back. "I thought I'd become delusional."

His shaky paws explored her curves, from shoulder blades to tail base. "And now?"

"I may still be deluding myself, but at this point I have no intention of stopping." Her chuckle danced on the recirculated air. "As for you, my feelings changed over time: from infatuation to friendship to… What would you say we are now?"

"Close." He squeezed her paw. "Closer than I've been with anybody."

She nuzzled him, her smiling lips tracing his. "You're sweet, Fox."

A nervous swallow accompanied his soaring heart. "I should warn you: I'm flying blind when it comes to a relationship."

She snuggled against him. "With you at my wing, I think we'll figure it out."

Drowsiness crept over his mind and loosened his inhibitions. In a moment of sleepy audacity, he whispered to her ear. "I've been afraid to ask…" His nerve faltered, though he managed to press on. "…but are you back for good?"

Drawing him close, she pressed her forehead to his. "Well, it all hinges on one thing."

His ears perked in anxious attention.

"I'll only stay…" Her breath stirred his fur, her voice his heart. "…if you'll kiss me."

With a wag, he leaned in and took his shot. Their lips met with a gentle heat. In each other's arms, they snuggled atop silk sheets on a second-hand assault carrier. Krystal buried her nose in his throat fluff, holding him with a curious mix of frantic trepidation and utter satisfaction. And Fox, though quite the opposite of a mind-reader, knew just how she felt.

~ ~ ~

Fox awoke in a strange bed with a very familiar blue vixen wrapped around him. Eyes closed, nose buried in his scarf, she looked more content than he'd ever seen her. He lay in bed, letting her sleep and enjoying her warmth. His thoughts drifted over the time they'd known each other, how ending up like this hadn't been anywhere as complicated as he'd feared.

At his side, she stirred. He turned to see her deep teal eyes met his, overwhelming in their silent affection.

His ears fell, hot with a blush. "Heh, um, good morning."

The vixen smiled, then nuzzled his cheek. "It is."

He nuzzled back, then savored the delicate kiss she planted on his lips.

Slipping out of bed, she stood and stretched. Then stripped off her clothes. The fur of her naked back shimmered in the starlight.

Fox's heart raced, ears erect, tail fluffed.

With a smile over her shoulder, she sauntered off to the shower. 

As the water hissed on, he sat up and stared at the bathroom door. Should he join her? That's how it worked in movies. She'd said she wanted him, after all. No big deal, right? His stomach hadn't done this many flips since training at the Academy. He steeled his resolve and got out of bed. He padded over in his socks, trying to think of something smooth to say. Should he take his clothes off before he went in? She'd taken off hers in front of him. That meant is was okay, right? Or was she just that comfortable in her own fur?

The bathroom door opened, emitting curls of steam and a blue vixen in a towel. Her eyes met his through wet bangs. "Waiting for someone?"

"Um!" He spread his paws in panic, looked up and down her body, and then panicked a little more. "Just for my turn."

"Be my guest." With an amused look, Krystal sat on the bed and used a second towel to dry her tail. 

Fox hurried into the bathroom and out of his clothes. It wasn't like him to freeze up. What was it about her that sent him for a loop? Water clung to the walls of the shower, steam to the air. He turned the flow back on and stepped in, standing naked in the space she had so recently occupied. He scrubbed down his fur, then worked in a pawful of shampoo. The scent, one he'd for so long associated with her, teased his nostrils. A quick rinse, then he climbed out, toweled off, and got back into his wrinkled clothes. Taking a deep breath of the humid air, he made sure to use his most sultry voice as he opened the door. "So, do you want to get breakfast or—"

She was naked.

Naked and fit and curvy and fluffy. She'd put on her tail bands and jewelry, t-shirt in hand. The light from the bedside lamp gleamed over her drying fur. 

Their eyes met. 

Her surprise faded to flirty amusement. "That was fast."

"Sorry! I, um…" Fox stammered, examining a bulkhead. "You have a lot of bottles in there, so I just used the pelt shampoo."

"Fox, you're in my room and you woke up with me. Nobody's been able to claim that since I was a kit at sleepovers." With easy grace, she sat on the bed, then curled her feet up, still in the nude. Her eyes never left him. "Of everyone in the Universe, I don't care if you see me naked."

He glanced her way, his face hot. "Okay."

She rolled her eyes. "Would it help if I put clothes on, Fox?"

"No!" His ears fell even further. "Umm, I mean, you don't have to."

She lifted an upturned paw to him, drawing him near. With a reassuring pat on his tail, she chuckled. "I want to be with you, remember?" 

"I know. This is just more of a rush than I'm used to." His own hand caressed her bare shoulder. "You really are beautiful."

"Aww, thank you." She nuzzled his chest. As his arms closed around her, he couldn't deny how right this all felt. Her warm body against his, their damp fur mingled, along with hot breath. 

His stomach growled. Right against her ear.

Fox's tail gave a shy twitch. "Umm…"

Her gentle laugh soothed him. "Maybe we should get breakfast." The vixen stood up and collected her clothes, tail swaying. 

Steeling his courage, he stopped her with a soft touch on the arm. As she glance his way, his shaky paw rose to her cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. A long, slow, beautiful moment passed, her lips on his, their arms around each other. 

As the kiss ended, she nuzzled his nose, looking impressed.

Fox wagged, glad he'd done something right. His paws rested on her naked hips. "Okay, now we can go to breakfast."

~ ~ ~

Fruit basket in hand, they walked into the mess hall. Maybe waking up next to a beautiful vixen had influenced his outlook, but whatever they had cooking actually smelled tasty.

Falco brooded, boots on a table, eyes out the main window. Beyond, the _Serenade_ hung, gleaming and white.

Their mechanic sat across the table, merrily stuffing his face with waffles.

Krystal's laugh danced around the cavernous space. "Slippy! Where'd you get a steam tray?"

"The buffet!" He swallowed another mouthful of golden pastry. "Someone dropped the tongs, so I used my tongue to get one. Then the staff said I could have the whole tray. Then they asked me to leave."

"Ya shoulda licked a syrup bottle on the way out." Falco tossed the honeycombed cake from his plate back at the frog. "Nobody likes dry waffles."

Slippy's tongue sprung out, snagging the half-eaten pastry from mid-air. He chomped on it with obvious delight.

Fox grabbed a plate for himself and one for Krystal. "As long as the steam tray doesn't end up part of my Arwing, I guess I don't mind."

In front of the falcon sat a glop of marinara on a platter. Various shapes lurked under the surface, remaining mysterious even when they emerged.

The male vulpine glanced into the pantry, at the bulk sacks of freeze-dried food product. Each mono-colored cube, when placed in the hydrator, would swell into something food-like. After a few bad experiences, Slippy had learned not to eat whole and uncooked food cubes. The vulpine poked the heap with his fork. It came out with a string of mozzarella. "What was this supposed to be?"

"I dunno." The bird shrugged. "Pizza."

Fox looked around the sides of the food pile, then scooped a little onto his plate. "It has a lot of noodles for pizza."

"I think it's great." The frog scooped some onto a waffle, then placed another on top to form a heinous offense to all sandwiches.

"That's great, Slippy." Taking a seat, Fox nibbled at a waffle, which happened to be halfway delicious.

Leaning in closer than usual, the blue vulpine examined the food cube wrapper, which lay under the foodstuff to protect the plate from staining. "'Made with genuine Hyper-Tomatoes—taste the four dimensions of flavor.' What does that mean, exactly?"

Slippy looked up from his pizza-noodle sandwich. "Is the fourth dimension time?"

The bird scoffed. "That'd explain the food cubes gettin' so old."

Krystal hefted the fruit basket. "Come on, Slippy: let's see if we can dress up your waffles a little."

"Great idea!" He hopped down and waddled after her to the industrial kitchen.

As soon as they passed out of earshot, the falcon leaned forward in his chair. "So! Ya spent the night in her quarters."

McCloud poured himself a cup of coffee. "How do you even know that?"

He nodded to the door they'd come through. "Ya came from below, which brings me to my next item of business…" He crossed his wings and cocked an eyebrow. "Get access to her warp gate?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Use yer boost to get through?"

Taking cover behind a sip of coffee, Fox tried not to encourage him. "I don't know if you missed the bulletin, but we're not teenagers anymore. You can stop acting like one."

"Hey genius, I'm on your side." The avian punched him in the shoulder. "Yer balls must match her pelt by this point."

Eyes closed, Fox took another bite of waffle. "I didn't ask for you to get involved."

"But ya need it." He spread his wings. "I'm the one gettin' all the action around here."

"No Falco, you get the same action over and over." He gave the bird a sidelong look. "Followed by periods of intensive 'literary study'."

The avian winced. "Hey, things with me and Katt are complicated right now."

He patted the his wingman's shoulder. "I'm sorry about your porn."

"Nah, it's fine." The falcon tossed him a smarmy wink. "I keep my favorites in my quarters anyway." 

Trying to shake the topic of his friend's pornography, McCloud glanced at the blue vixen working at a prep table. "You don't think she had a thing with Panther, do you?"

"Nah." The bird leaned back and crossed his wings. "What would she see in a tall, muscular, suave fighter pilot who's got the stones to tell her how he feels?"

With a sigh, he pressed a paw to his face. "Falco, how are we even friends?"

"'Cause, for the savior of the Lylat System, yer a giant wuss." His eyes darted to the other half of the team as they finished chopping fruit and walked back across the mess hall. 

Krystal glided in, tail perked in a subtle wag. "I think this is the first fruit basket I've received that has four kinds of beans in it." She set down a plate of sliced dumbledang pods and came in for a landing next to her fellow vulpine. "Or smoked fish."

Falco perked up at the mention of fish, then hurried back behind his usual sullen affectation.

A few more bites into his noodle sandwich, Slippy spotted something deep in the steam tray and unearthed it. "Whoa: stray pancake!" His damp hand raised it in victory. "I call dibs."

A metallic scream rang through the ship, then a tremor in the deck plates. An echoing clang followed an instant later.

Everyone froze.

The sound came again, closer: the sound of shredding metal, the shaking, then a heavy clank. 

Fox found his paw on the handle of his blaster as he tried to listen over his heartbeat. 

Across the table, Falco's crest rose. "What the heck is that?"

Slippy dropped a handful of pizza noodles. "That was a pressure door!" The frog fumbled out his diagnostic tablet. "We just had two hull breaches!"

Another metal shriek erupted, followed by a slam.

"Three!" His webbed fingers called up the radar display. "I can't get a reading—sensors not showing any weapon signatures!"

Cold adrenaline raced through Fox's veins. With hits like this, they wouldn't last long enough to fight back. He slapped his comm gauntlet. " _Serenade!_ This is Star Fox One: emergency jump now!"

Voices stammered at the other end of the channel. "Star Fox One, we'll have to get the captain up here to—"

"Jump now!"

A breathless moment crawled by. Out the window, the gleaming form of the _Serenade_ flashed off into warp.

His fingers cold, as if the chill of space had already soaked into them. He forced himself to stay focused: they needed to retreat. Fox switched to the team channel. "ROB! Emergency jump!"

"Orders confirmed. Priming engines." The main reactor thrummed, then revved.

Falco turned from the window. "We're runnin' away?"

The ship shuddered, then the stars out the window streaked around them.

Fox gripped the table as the ship stabilized. A quick glance out the window confirmed the star pattern had changed. Good. The emergency jump destination had been chosen at random; assuming no one had leaked the coordinates, nobody could follow. Now that their deaths seemed less imminent, he spared a thought for the avian and nodded. "You think we could've gotten to the Arwings?"

The bird grumbled, walked across the mess hall, and hit the button to enter the corridor. The panel made an unhappy buzz. "Door's stuck."

Slippy looked up from his diagnostics. "Oh, the actuators aren't strong enough to open with vacuum on the other side."

The avian yanked his wing back from the button as if it'd burned him. "I guess I should be thankful."

The door groaned, then hissed with suction. 

Outside the mess hall window, the _Serenade_ slid into view as ROB directed the _Great Fox_ beside it as if nothing had happened. What would the robot do if they all got blown into space? How long would he follow the cruise ship before someone noticed they hadn't checked in and find their frozen bodies floating in space?

Inside the mess hall, food cube wrappers twirled across the deck like fallen leaves, clinging to the gaps in the doors.

Falco backed away. 

A faint draft brushed through his fur on its way to a cold oblivion. McCloud jumped to his feet. "Nearest spacesuit locker?" 

Slippy snatched his tool belt off the back of his chair. "Down the corridor in the armory."

"Move!" He grabbed Krystal by the arm and headed for the opposite door. 

At their heels, Falco sprinted across the mess hall, then shoved the frog forward. 

Fox hit the door control and watched it chug open. Only after he sealed it after his team did he feel the vixen's touch on his hand and realize he's been gripping her wrist the whole time. Through the moment's tension, he let go. 

She flexed her paw, making sure it still worked, then shot him a glance that promised this would come up later. "Spacesuit locker?"

As he shook of a shiver of dread, Fox wondered if Krystal ever felt underdressed. At the moment, he certainly did.

~ ~ ~

Clad in a bulky space suit, Krystal slunk down the corridor. Most of the lights had survived the hit and decompression, though a few flickered, shaken loose. With artificial gravity still working on this deck, she left off the electro-magnets in her boots. The floor lay littered with hull fragments and crispy wires. With each step, she crunched over slag, only able to hear it through the air in her suit.

Ahead, the rest of the team examined the hull breach. 

Krystal pointed to the cluster of holes. "I'd blame asteroids, but they don't target our main reactor."

Fox nodded to her, then turned to the amphibian. "Okay Slippy: what did this?"

"An iron slug." The frog tapped a blackened glob of metal. "One for each hole. They melted on impact." He rubbed the residue between his gloved fingertips. "Given the composition, I'd say iron dust with some kind of binding agent."

McCloud gave a curt nod. "The asteroid belt has plenty of iron."

"Oh good." Falco hefted a canister of hull sealant. "Industrious pirates."

The blue vixen twitched her ears against the top of the helmet, then aimed her own canister at the gap. "A magnetic cannon?" She pulled the trigger, spraying the silvery substance to patch the first crater. The fluid splattered in silent clumps on the charred bulkhead.

"Not a weapon most pirates bother with." Spraying more sealant, the avian radiated irritation. "Who wants to lead their shots and ration ammo when you can fire lasers?"

"What size ship could carry a mass driver capable of this?" Fox watched Falco fill in another puncture. The metallic foam clogged the hole in the bulkhead, sealing them from the twinkle of the stars and the howling void of space.

"I'd say the slug was around a meter long, with a small diameter." The frog shrugged. "The cannon wouldn't be much bigger."

"So we got no idea." Done spraying for the moment, Falco rolled his eyes. "Swell."

"Mass-drivers put out a big magnetic signature." Slippy swept out his hands. "Our scans should've picked it up."

McCloud stroked the chin of his helmet in thought. "Could it have been fired from range?"

"Doubtful." With another silent blast, Krystal sealed the last breach. "We're in the heart of an asteroid field."

He touched her shoulder. "You didn't sense anything?"

Feeling his gaze, she turned. Irrational anger flared in her throat, but she swallowed it for the moment. He wouldn't kick her off the team, it wasn't in his nature to break his word, but she could feel how much he wanted to protect her. That instinct made her a liability, and the only way she could think of to lessen that was to be a professional. So she bit back her irritation. "No, but I've been tuning out hundreds of tourists for the past month."

Taking her canister, Slippy touched up the remaining pinholes in the hull.

Silent, Fox pondered the situation as the metal foam expanded, slowed, and hardened in the hard vacuum.

The blue vixen stood close to Fox, watching as his breath fogged and cleared the clear faceplate. So many questions, both about them and about the attack. After a few moments, she came upon one she couldn't hold back: "If the pirates wanted to keep us from interfering with a raid on the _Serenade_ , why not target the hangar bay? It's relatively exposed, while the reactor is buried in the center of the ship."

He met her glance, green-eyed gaze touching her as soft as his paws had last night. "I think they were after us."

"Then they're a bunch of suckers." Falco cawed a cold laugh. "Not only do we not have anything, we'll kill them for tryin' to take what we don't have."

Krystal looked down the shredded bulkheads that had been in the ballistic path. Tatters of magazines with names like "Fowl Play" and "Birdseed" clung to the jagged metal, sucked out when the molten metal hit Falco's quarters. She decided not to tell him, better to let him calm down first. However, that did give her an idea…

~ ~ ~

A pink cat flashed onto the screen. In the background, her fluffy tail bobbed up straight. "Hi hun! Long time no see."

Krystal sat on her love seat, beside her empty space suit. "Hello, Katt." She kept her voice a balance of professional and genial.

Head high, she prowled closer. "What's up?"

"You know that contract you passed to us?"

The cat examined the back of her paw. "Mmhm."

"Want it back?"

Amused and idly grooming, she straightened her hair in the reflection of the comm screen. "Tourists giving you trouble?"

The vixen shook her head. "We had a close call."

With a twitch of her ears, her signature coy cheer vaporized. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're fine. Falco's pride took the brunt of it."

"I'm sure that'll survive." Her blue eyes rolled. "What happened?"

"Some pirates decided the _Great Fox_ needed another airlock."

Her whiskers jumped. "Surprised you let that happen."

"We were too." Krystal glanced in the direction of the damage. "When was the last time you got shot at with a mass driver?"

"Never, as far as I know." She straightened an errant whisker. "Why?"

"We had one almost take out our plasma reactor, without showing on radar."

The feline let out a long, low whistle.

"We were probably the target, but it's still possible they wanted the _Serenade of the Stars._ " She glanced out the window, to the boundless depth of stars beyond. "The _Serenade_ won't wait for us to complete repairs, so this is safer for everyone."

Katt rolled to her back, lounging on neon pink sheets. "I can help you out."

"Don't take this one alone, Katt." The vixen shot a serious glance into the comm. "I'm serious."

"Okay. I'll call in a favor from Fay, Miyu, maybe Phoenix." Looking up from counting on her fingers, she gave a playful purr. "You owe me, hun. I don't like splitting my pay."

Krystal sighed. It didn't take an empath to figure out what she wanted. "When this is over, you can take me out for a 'girls night.'"

"Now that sounds like fun. We do make a colorful pair." Tail swaying once more, the feline cocked an ear. "We'll hit some karaoke bars, drive the local boys crazy."

A smile rose to the vixen's lips. "Thanks, Katt."

"Sure. I'd better get prepped if I'm taking the contract." She jerked her head in a little, confident nod. "See ya again!"

The screen went dark. Krystal sat alone in her quarters and let her thoughts settle. They still had a ship; they still had their lives: anything else they could sort out. As the vixen's gaze traveled the room, she wondered if Fox would mind if she demanded he come cuddle her. Even if she still felt a little mad at him.

~ ~ ~

Corneria, blue-green and far above, hung half-lit and peppered with city lights. From the bridge of the _Great Fox II_ , McCloud watched it through the scaffolding of the Space Dynamics drydock.

Falco handed him a tablet with some hasty calculations. "Fox, tell me the _Serenade's_ gonna pay for all this."

The vulpine's eyebrows rose at the total. "I should make you itemize this, but I don't think I want to know."

A ruffle of embarrassment rolled down the bird's body. "Look, there were some…additional losses from the rail gun hits."

Dropping the topic, he keyed in the final total to their invoice, then sent it. Seconds later, it came back approved and the credits started to roll in. "We only had a couple weeks left, so I had them prorate us."

As he circled the command deck, his beak bobbed in a nod. "What'd we lose?"

Fox double-checked the final total. "Thirty percent, not counting your porn."

The avian scowled, crest drooping. "I knew I shouldn't have lowballed. How'd you get outta the contract?"

"Considering this size of the holes punched in our ship, I asked for more money." A wry smirk rose to the fox's muzzle. "Suddenly, our safety was very important to them."

"At least we got paid." Falco sighed.

"At least we got away." Krystal strode onto the bridge. 

Fox squirmed as she stood next to him, then put his arm around her. Then he glanced back at the avian. 

Across the bridge, his wingmate made lewd thrusting motions.

He flipped Falco the bird, then turned his attention back to the pretty fox next to him. 

Giving no sign of noticing, she smiled down at him. "Promising them a replacement escort worked?" 

"Like a charm." The vulpine leader forwarded his report on the attack to the Cornerian authorities. Maybe a patrol would stumble across the pirates and take them down. He could stand one less worry.

"That’s good." Krystal brushed a lock of hair from her face, sharing a coy glance with Fox. "Took some convincing to get Katt to take back the contract on short notice."

"Katt's comin' here?" The bird stood up straighter. "Shoot, I got some confetti to clean off my floor." He hurried back to the lift. 

The foxes watched the doors close after him. 

Moments passed in silence. Fox looked up at her, ears down, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about dragging you out of the mess hall."

"Your first instinct is to protect me and I'm not used to being taken care of." She patted his shoulder. "I'll try to remember it's because you care."

He nodded. "Might take a while for me to get out of the habit. Next time, I'll drag Slippy around instead."

A single chuckle yipped from her lips. "Sounds fair." Her paw traced down his back. "What now?"

Fox cleared his throat. "Well, Falco's going to be preening for a while. Slippy left to check in with his dad and buy spare parts." 

"That just leaves us." Her sly look made his heartbeat thunder. "How will we pass the time?"

His paw curled at her flank, brushing through her soft blue fur. His muzzle tilted up to deliver a small kiss. "I think we'll figure something out."

~ ~ ~

This story is shaping up to be more complex than I expected! Oh well. You guys like plot with your porn, right? ; )

Art: Zaush (Used with permission.)  
Edits: Sillyneko345, Slate, Archaesophilia, Eljot001  
Proofs: Flack, Thefunkyone, Darkdragon452, Dracovar, Nyaasu

-Tempo


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krystal has her paws on Fox McCloud at last, but with a dangerous foe hunting them, will they even have time to enjoy each other's company?

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 3  
By Tempo

_Krystal has her paws on Fox McCloud at last, but with a dangerous foe hunting them, will they even have time to enjoy each other's company?_

~ ~ ~

"Wow! That's a lot of dumbledang pods." Tricky watched as his fellow EarthWalkers loaded striped melons into the last cargo containers. Now and then, an automated hover-crane thrummed down from the sky to ferry another crate to the _Great Fox II_. Slippy sat on the heavy stone railing, feet kicking as he beamed commands from his control tablet.

Fox stood with his team at the ramp of the ziggurat. "You're sure we can take all these?"

"No problem! They grow like weeds." The pink dinosaur bounced with excitement, which shook the ancient stone blocks of the ramp. "Thanks for catching all those grubtubs for us." He bucked his head in the direction of a mound of blaster-singed fungi.

Krystal smiled at the few members of other tribes who'd come to watch the commotion, then nodded at the mushroom heap. "What'll you do with them?"

"Give them to the other EarthWalkers." Cheery as ever, he looked back at her, his honorary Star Fox badge swinging from a spike on his frill. "They'd be mad if I didn't share."

Krystal slipped an amused smile to her fellow vulpine. 

McCloud smirked back and patted the dinosaur's frill. "You're a good ruler, Tricky."

"Thanks, Fox!" The EarthWalker beamed, rubbing his beak on Fox's vest. "Are you guys still stuck on that bad spaceship? The one you didn't like?"

Fox's ears drooped as if under heavy gravity. "Yes."

"You could always live here." Tricky swayed his tail in a distinctly canid fashion. "It's nice to have someone around with thumbs."

"Thanks, old pal." The vulpine leader swayed his own tail. "But we're not ready to give up the stars just yet."

"Alright." The dinosaur looked up at the blue sky. "Any time you want to give me my own spaceship, I'd be happy to help you. I've been in space, ya know."

"Yeah, but in my cargo compartment." Fox held his paws about a meter apart. "You've hit a growth spurt since then."

Falco crowed a laugh. "We're gonna need a bigger Arwing."

~ ~ ~

Crate upon crate of dumbledang pods packed the hangar. Slippy had left the aftmost bays empty for Arwings. The fragrance of the melons, delicate in single, became cloying en masse. Fox considered having him seal the containers, just in case of another decompression. 

The frog patted the fighter moorings, which he'd managed to clamp onto the middle crate in each stack. "That should hold them for now, but we're not rigged for cargo. I'll lash them down."

"Don't forget to patch the sails and scrape off the barnacles." Falco crowed at his own wit. 

Krystal peered down the neat rows of shipping containers. "I think it looks quite sharp."

The amphibian grinned with pride.

"Yeah, it's still better than that time we had to transport caviar and Slippy got all weird about it."

The squat mechanic propped his fists on his hips. "How would you feel about transporting bird eggs? For food?"

The avian scoffed. "I eat eggs for breakfast."

Looking over the ships inventory on his comm gauntlet, Fox skimmed past five screens of dumbledang pods before getting to the rest of the foodstuffs. "Mostly reconstituted." 

"Those are eggs?" The frog blinked. "I thought it was pudding mix."

"Either way, you shouldn't have stuck yer tongue in the bag!" Falco punched the frog in the shoulder.

"Hey! Leave me alone!" Slippy rubbed his arm and stuck his tongue out at the tall bird. 

Fox stepped between them. "Okay guys, let's break it up. We already took care of this with that 'No Sampling' sign in the pantry."

The mechanic adjusted his tool belt. "We should stop at a military surplus yard. I put our cargo doors back on, but the mechanism's toast."

One paw rubbing the fur of his scruff, the tan vulpine offered Slippy an honest look. "We aren't flush with cash at the moment." 

Across the walkway, Krystal leaned back, her palms atop the railing. "How are our defenses coming?"

"I'm having some trouble there. We can launch nova bombs now, but I'm pretty nervous without an interceptor system." He spread his webbed hands. "These civilian-grade deflector shields are designed for asteroids, not weapons fire." 

She cast an anxious look at the bay doors. "And with someone out there gunning for us…"

"I say we go pirate huntin'." Falco punched his own palm. "Take it to 'em."

Fox gave the falcon a sidelong look. "Tell me who shot at us, and we'll do just that."

~ ~ ~

Krystal walked with her fellow vulpine back to her quarters. She hit the button to open the door, walked in, and sat on the bed. A quick swipe of her paws detached the staff holster from her thigh. "You don't look like an 'Inari'. Maybe a 'Marcus'; I've always thought that was a nice name."

Fox strode into her quarters and threw his vest and blaster belt on the sofa. While still nervous, he'd relaxed over the last few nights of sleeping in her quarters. "My mom named me Inari, but Cornerian birth certificates have the line for species next to the given name, so…"

Arms crossed over her breasts, Krystal smirked. "You can't be serious."

"By the time anyone noticed, the name had populated through the system." He swept a paw out toward the stars through her window. "The best we could get was a note in my file, but the listing is still 'Fox' McCloud. Happens all the time."

Incredulity spread across her muzzle with her smile. She patted the bed beside her.

He took a seat at her side. His tail fluffed back and forth, amused but revealing no clues as to the truth. "Guess you'll have to check Corneria's records."

She hit the dimmer switch on her nightstand and leaned against his chest. "Why didn't we do this ages ago?"

"We live dangerous lives." Tension infiltrated his posture and tone; he slipped an arm around her. "I'd hate to be dating you and then die. Or have you die."

"We're on a good streak of not dying." Her gaze flicked up to his. "One I expect to continue, with you letting me watch your back again."

"So long as I get to watch yours." Behind her, he traced a paw from nape to tail. 

Eyes closed in pleasure, she shivered. "You're good at that."

His fingers trailed up and down the silky fur of her back. His black-tipped ears dipped to the sides in cute affection. "You make me want to be good at things like that."

"You sweet talk _and_ fly an Arwing?" Her nose brushed his. "I'm sure you have got girls lining up around the spacedock."

Tugging his gloves off, he rolled his eyes. "I'd never sleep with fans. Reputation, remember?" 

Amusement glowed in those aqua eyes. "Then who have you slept with?"

His ears popped up like targeting reticles. "Uh, I'm not— I haven't— I mean—"

The vixen's gentle laugh and touch on his thigh quieted him. "I don't mean to tease. Though, you are cute when you're flustered."

Fox crossed his arms with a shrug. "I'm a busy guy, okay?"

"Well, I've been a busy girl." Muzzle within whisker distance of his, her every word washed through his fur in a tease of hot breath. That slender blue paw caressed his thigh. "Maybe we should slow down together?"

They kissed. Tender paws traced eager bodies. She opened her muzzle, just a little at first, and he followed suit. His tongue slipped hot over hers. His hand rose to caress her breast, a move that surprised both of them. Brushing her muzzle along his, she cupped her paw over his, then guided it under her shirt. A wave of arousal washed over him as he touched her bra. He stroked the fur of her stomach, but couldn't get his fingertips under the garment. 

Unzipping his green flight suit, she caressed his chest with only a black t-shirt in the way. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear: "Why don't you get comfortable?"

With a nod, he stood and tugged the garment off, then got it tangled on his boots and had to hop out of them.

Meanwhile, trying not to giggle at his situation, Krystal slipped out of her own clothes and sandals. Just for effect, she lifted a leg onto the bed and pretended to stretch, her tail just happening to curl for a perfect view of her delicate pink folds. 

With a huff of victory, he stood before her in socks, a black t-shirt, and form-fitting boxers. He then noticed she was naked. She felt his brain shut down for a second. 

A sultry grin spread over her muzzle. It felt good to have him want her. She licked her lips. "Like the view?"

With a blush and a cocky grin, he stepped closer and curled his fingers under her muzzle. They kissed again. His gentle paws removed her jewelry, then he knelt to uncinch her tail bands and set them on the floor. This brought him eye level with her crotch. Spreading her legs, his muzzle drifted between her thighs. He glanced up at her. "Do you want me to?"

Now it was her turn to blush. Being naked around someone she trusted was one thing, but having him stare between her legs… "O-okay."

His dark nose sniffed closer. He stroked her knees, then up to her hips. "You might have to guide me through this."

"Alright…" She watched as his muzzle met her mound, then gasped as his tongue traced her lips. 

"Sorry. Is my nose too cold?" He rubbed it, sniffed, then blushed to the ears at her scent. 

"No, it felt lovely." Hips shifting, she bit her lower lip. "You can keep going, if you like…"

Without hesitation, he pressed his muzzle between her thighs and licked again. Each lick got bolder, deeper, and made her shudder and lean back. Soon the wet sound of his laps filled the small room. Soft moans escaped her lips, causing him to wag and sink his tongue into her folds. 

Krystal gripped the sheets, feeling not only her own arousal, but his as well. One paw rose to play with her nipples, while her other stroked Fox's hair, urging him on. His efforts and her growing lust conspired to get her very wet, very fast. "Mmmmmf!"

With a growl of arousal, he dug his nose deeper and licked with abandon. 

"That's the way, Fox." She panted and gripped his ears. Her muscles contracted on that delightful intruder, her hips jostling atop the sheets. "Just like that."

In her shifting, her foot bumped something hard and hot straining in his underpants. He moaned in pleasure, nose-deep in her folds. His breath, hot with passion, filtered through the fur of her crotch. He opened his mouth, working his lips over hers. That fluffy tail darted back and forth across the carpet as he tightened his grip on her thighs. 

Her breath caught short. Her eyes fluttered closed as her body shuddered around him. Pleasure rushed through her body like a shockwave as she worked her hips against his muzzle. "Oh Fox!" 

The licking never slowed. If anything, it sped up, unrelenting as her hips rocked atop the mattress. He grabbed her rump, not letting her wiggle away from his lapping mouth—even if she'd wanted to. 

As her orgasm ebbed, she gasped and smoothed the fur of his head. Her lips tingled with tenderness, compelling her to lift his face from her crotch. Her blue paws held his chin as she tried to pant away the heat under her fur. 

His muzzle dark with her juices, he licked his lips and grinned up at her. Pride flashed in his bright green eyes. "That was fast."

"I usually take longer, but I could feel how…turned on you got." She rubbed her thighs together. "That felt incredible."

"Glad to be of service." He stretched up and kissed her. His mouth tasted a bit like her, but that only reminded her of where it had been just moments before. 

While he licked along her teeth, she reached under his shirt and tugged it up. Together, they drew it over his head. As he stood, she pulled him close, cupping her paw to the ample bulge of his crotch. "Someone's excited." Her claw tips toyed along his waistband. "Mind if I have a look?"

"S-sure." Those tan paws tugged down his boxers at a tantalizing pace, exposing first a turgid splash of red, then his swollen sheath. They then tucked the elastic with care behind his sac. That white-furred scrotum hung, polite and fuzzy, under his full sheath and half-exposed cock. Deep pink and sleek, the tip shone with a drop of clear precum. 

Her fingertips rose to her lips, a blush creeping under her cheek ruffs. "Oh my."

"What?" Fox blushed even deeper, the insides of ears rivaling his cock for pinkness. A blend of nervous anxiety and pent-up arousal swept off him.

"You're just rather…prettier than I expected." Her dextrous paw closed around the base of his shaft and worked the sheath up and down. All the way up, just his cock tip peeked from its fluffy white home, as shy as he was. All the way down, the swell of his growing knot glinted in the dim light. She glanced up to its owner. "Hotter as well. My toys don't get this warm…and they certainly don't drip."

Standing between her knees, he winced with pleasure and looked to be on the verge of drooling. "Dang, that feels good…"

She smirked as she thumbed the top of his joystick. "I've done some pretty extensive reading during some of our slower missions." Slender blue paws stroked his sheath back and forth and cupped his balls. His heartbeat pulsed under her paw pads. 

Hand on her shoulder, he shuddered. "I need to lay down or I'm gonna tip over."

With a quiet giggle, she scooted to one side of the bed and let him lay down beside her. Eager for the feel of him in her grasp, her fingers curled around his girth. Straddling his hips, she leaned in to nuzzle his cheek. "I can feel how much you like this. How much you like me stroking you. I like it too."

Arousal radiated in frantic spikes, a sensation she'd felt herself countless times. He groaned, his breath getting ragged. A dribble of heat soaked into the fur of her knuckles. "I— I'm— Mmm!"

With a swish of her tail, she climbed down his body to rub her muzzle along his throbbing dick. His scent, masculine and clean, teased her nostrils, made her salivate. She gave him a single sensuous lick, curling her tongue around his shaft, then dragging it up over the head.

A yowl of pleasure cut the air. He shivered, pulsed against her lips, then a burst of thick heat splashed the roof of her mouth. Orgasm crackled up his nerve endings, collected to a critical mass in his crotch, contracted his sac, and then fired out of him as pure liquid pleasure onto her waiting tongue. She moaned around the sudden mouthful, his salty taste made her swallow even as she pulled away. The heat slicked down her throat as another jet sprayed across her muzzle. Surprise grasped her paw around his knot, making him arch his back and groan, shooting a slippery constellation of vulpine seed across the pristine fur of his stomach. Her whiskers felt heavy with the weight of his ejaculate, and a string of it trailed down to her chin. She wiped them clean with the back of her paw. 

In stunned wonder, Fox watched, his head on her pillow, his cock shooting a final pulse of sticky white passion. His every panted breath exalted her, even as he collapsed to the bed. 

Pleasure emanated from him in waves, coaxing her to straddle his hips and grind atop him. Even as he lay in afterglow, her clit tingled with arousal, demanding attention. Her sticky fingers flew between her legs, working his semen over that tender nub, stroking with undeniable need. "That was quick…"

"I was…" He panted, then stroked her thighs as they squeezed around him. "…excited."

The vixen moaned as she planted kisses along his chest before leaning back to ride him, her fingers working. A second orgasm surged through her, less intense than the first, but leaving her brain in a haze of pleasure. She moaned as her clitoris throbbed under a slick layer of vulpine fluids. As the pleasure ebbed, she curled up next to him, listening to him breathe. Just as she started to wonder if he'd passed out, those strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight, making her feel warm in the depths of space. 

She nuzzled into his fur with a smile and a sigh. A vixen could get used to this. 

~ ~ ~

Fox watched the shining shores of Zoness, kilometers below. With the waters almost as pure as before the Lylat Wars, the tourist economy had recovered somewhat. The dumbledang pods had sold for a moderate price, though getting them for free certainly helped the team's bottom line. 

Slippy, standing at the controls for the hover crane, guided yet another shipping container out the bay doors and down to the planet. "I'm not sad to see the melons go."

"You shouldn't be. You ate more than the rest of us combined."

The frog tapped out a few final commands on the control panel. "Okay! The rest of the crates should be delivered automatically." He bounced down from the box he'd been sitting on. "What'd you want me to work on next?" 

"Actually…" Fox smiled. "Falco's too embarrassed to admit it, but he's always been very curious about amphibian reproduction."

"Oh! Well, it's not that different from avians, on a genetic level. Most of the differences relate to external fertilization." Inspiration struck the amphibian, causing a hop of excitement. "I'll prepare a slideshow!"

The vulpine nodded, careful to keep his expression neutral. "Make sure it's got plenty of visual aids. You know how Falco likes those."

"Sure thing, Fox!" He nodded. "Yeah, I've seen those all those posters of ladies on the walls of his quarters."

As he tried not to smirk, the vulpine's comm gauntlet blinked with a message. He hit the view button and read it. "Well, Tricky just offered to pay us to take him and some tribal elders to Fortuna. Something about supposed Saurian ruins there. Too bad somebody has a mass driver with our name on it…" He typed up a quick reply. 

The frog eyed him. "Why do you keep using the buttons on those? They have gesture control."

Hitting send, McCloud spread his gloved fingers. "Look, it said that on the box, but we both know it never worked right."

Slippy nodded. "It's those darn carbon-flex sensors. Dad told me the original prototype had optical ones, but they were too expensive." His webbed hands toyed with a ratchet. "Hey Fox… I have an idea, but you might not like it."

His ears rose. "Shoot."

"Sector Y."

Half graveyard, half minefield, the old battlefield had hung in space for years, making it only slightly younger than the _Great Fox II_. Live munitions peppered the area and even the weakest deflector shields could set them off, so no serious attempt had been made at salvage. "How would we get the _Great Fox_ in?"

"Most of the sector is too dense for a ship this big." The amphibian laid his hand flat and pretended to tow the spanner after it. "We'd have to tow out what we need."

With a nod and a deep breath, the vulpine decided salvaging for scrap still beat playing by a cruise company's rules. "I'll think about it. It's not a bad idea."

"No, but I've had a worse one." He turned his tablet around to show the red hulk of the ship they'd fought. "This is from Krystal's gun camera. It's a Sargasso battlecruiser, but heavily modified. In addition to this stealth plating, it probably has some kind of EM dampening, which is why it barely showed up on radar." 

Fox's ears rose. "Before our own client jammed us."

The frog nodded. "It should have missile pods in the front too, but…" He zoomed in on the prow. "You see these spikes?"

McCloud took the tablet and examined the image. Angular black shapes protruded from the hull. "What are those?" 

"Well, that's the bad part: I think they're G-diffusers."

He handed the tablet back. "You're joking."

"It would explain why they didn't need much power for their mass driver." The mechanic adjusted his toolbelt, then his ball cap. "They canceled out the momentum of the slugs before firing."

His comm gauntlet beeped. He glanced down to see a message from Krystal, asking if he was okay. He keyed in 'yes' before he even realized she'd sensed his emotions from decks away. "Where do pirates get G-diffusers?" 

Slippy swallowed. "I know where we left some…"

~ ~ ~

The _Great Fox_ dropped out of warp with a shudder. Krystal, seated in her cockpit, watched as the hangar doors opened above the green world of Fichina. Beside her, Fox tossed her a little smile through his canopy. The next moment, a servo hauled his Arwing out into space.

With a series of dull chugs, the docking system catapulted the three other Arwings out, one after another. Again in the familiar embrace of the stars, she urged her craft onward into formation with the others. 

Space crackled, reflections of a single form coalescing into a sleek silver fighter with green markings. The pilot shot past them, circled around to their flank, and dipped a wing in greeting. In the cockpit, a grey dog with commander stripes on his helmet looked their way. "Star Fox One, on behalf of the Cornerian military: how's it hangin'?"

"Bill!" Happiness rippled from the lead Arwing. "You made it."

She had to smile. His joy was infectious. 

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting." He rolled his fighter above Fox's and bumped his fist against the glass. "With great power comes great paperwork."

"Tell me about it." The vulpine returned the gesture.

"Let's continue this lovefest planetside." Bill switched to general frequency. "Fichina Control, this is Kahuna One. I'm bringing in four friendlies."

A middle-aged canine with her hair in a bun appeared on the comm display. "Copy that, Kahuna One. You are cleared to land."

After burning down through the atmosphere, they came upon a modest outpost. Radar towers and utility buildings ringed a central installation. Impact craters pockmarked the grassy landscape, some with bits of aircraft still poking out of them. The five fighters touched down on the tarmac. Krystal popped the canopy, climbed out, and landed on the pavement, just in time to see Falco and Bill leap into a flying chest bump. 

As the dog landed, his floppy ears slapped against the surface of his helmet, then he turned his attention to the stout mechanic. "Slippy dude, what's hoppin'?" He exchanged a damp high-five with the frog. 

Fox strode up, tail swishing. "You didn't need to come out here yourself."

"As if!" The canine woofed a laugh. "We needed to catch up." He threw an arm around Fox's shoulders. "You ought to drop in at Katina sometime. We can chill and grab some 'za, just like the good old days."

As she crunched over the gritty pavement, she felt the canine's attention shift her way.

The dog doffed his flight helmet and nodded her way. "You gonna introduce me to the wild blue yonder?"

"Krystal, this is Bill." The smaller canid swept a paw between them. "We went to the Academy together." 

She rolled her eyes. "I never would have guessed."

"Bill, Krystal." He reversed the gesture. "We met keeping Sauria from exploding."

"Righteous." The military pilot clasped her hand, then patted her back, wagging all the while. "Been hearing about you for a while."

"Good things, I trust?" A burst of daft affection translated through their brief physical contact. Dogs always felt like that. 

He nodded, still wagging. "Well, dudes, dudette, let's shoot this tube." He led the way into the cavernous west door of the complex. 

She took Fox's arm. "You're sure he speaks Lylat?"

"As much as he ever does." Fox kept an eye on the sentry bots as the group walked in. "The place is looking better than I remember." 

Bill let the guards at the door scan his ID card. "Dudes had a lotta wrecks to recover. Lotta newbies bit it during evac. Things got pretty gnarly until you showed up."

Falco glanced back at the craters as they entered the building. "Yeah, no thanks to Star Wolf."

"Sketchy suckers." The dog punched Fox on the shoulder. "I know who's got my back."

They entered a sprawling chamber, their footsteps echoing over scuffed concrete floors. Each direction had its own massive door, large enough to fly a small ship in. All around, Cornerians in lab coats or military jumpers milled about. Some worked on spacecraft, others on more obscure machinery, and one wheeled past an Aparoid plasma cannon, complete with twitching sensory hairs. 

Bill Grey offered them only a shrug. "Remember, guys, whatever you see here, you didn't."

They continued on until they reached a bay sealed by a blast door, of which there were dozens. 

"Check it, Fox." Leaning forward, Bill pressed his nose to the scan plate. Heavy locks clattered inside the vault door. He swung the door open. Inside, their shattered pieces stacked in neat piles, stood four ruined Wolfen fighters. He jerked a thumb at the spiky, predatory craft. "That is _not_ one of ours."

Slippy waddled around the bay, then climbed up a ladder beside the first Wolfen to look it over. "Are they complete?"

"Tough to say. Lotta stuff took a dirt dive during the terraform." He swept one paw over the other. "They still get bogus readings from all the wrecks."

He tapped on the G-diffuser casing, then unbolted it and lifted it away. A neat bundle of coils and wires lay beneath. After a moment hesitation, the frog looked up in dismay. "This G-diffuser's a fake."

McCloud sighed. They'd feared as much. "You're sure?"

"Wolfen G-diffusers are based on the Arwing Mark I model." The amphibian tapped the device. "This is a coffee maker."

Bill's jowls drooped. "Bummer."

Falco's crest rose. "Crud!"

Slippy said nothing, but hurried through checking the rest of the G-diffusers. Coffee machines all.

Krystal turned to the officer. "Could they be somewhere else in the base?"

"All Venom tech gets signed in and out." Bill flicked through his tablet. "According to the records, every Wolfen should have their G-diffusers."

Muzzle dipped, the vixen closed her eyes for a few seconds, then shook her head at Fox. "I'm reading anger, anxiety, and paranoia from the staff, but all directed at other members of the staff."

A smirk crept onto the red fox's face. "Office politics?" 

She nodded, hair beads jingling. "Makes me glad I work from a smaller office."

He grabbed a clear containment bag from a small rack and filled it with a few more obscure tools from Slippy's belt. "Bill, do me a favor and don't mention this to the base staff."

The dog nodded. "I'll launch an inquiry when I get home. We'll find who jacked 'em." He shook his heavy muzzle. "This is some court martial biz."

Fox sealed the bag, tucked it under his arm, then walked out the door of the vault. His tone shifted to calm confidence. "It was good seeing you again, Bill." He patted the bag of tools. "We'll have this tech to Kew in a few weeks time." 

Krystal smiled, sensing his ruse. If this base really had someone providing pirates with contraband parts, tipping their hand now might alert the traitor. Walking out with a 'shipment' would provide cover. 

The dog gave a conspiratorial wag as they strode back toward the gate. "It's a long trip, Fox, but they have sick waves. You should kick it there a while—I can lend you some sticks from my quiver."

The tan vulpine made sure to walk past as many people as possible. "Might take you up on that. Our budget's a little thin."

"If your crew ever gets tired of the merc life, I could pull some strings, get you named my third squadron."

Falco cawed. "Now I see why you were bein' so nice to us."

Fox smirked. "I don't know if we're there just yet."

They made it through the security gate. The guards scanned and documented their bag of tools, then asked for signatures made out to their pups.

The canine officer walked them back to their Arwings. His tail still wagged, but Krystal felt the brave front he put on. He shook her hand, high-fived Falco and Slippy, then hugged his old schoolmate. "Take care, Fox." 

He patted the tall dog on the back. "You too, Bill."

Commander Bill Grey climbed into his craft and, as the canopy closed, flashed them a gesture with his pinky and thumb. "The rest of you kooks hang loose, alright?" 

Standing straight, Fox watched him lift off, emanating a sense of his own mortality. 

Krystal took his arm. "You have the strangest friends." 

A thread of cheer wove into his attitude as he gave a bittersweet nod. "In this business, I'd worry if they were normal." 

High above, the Cornerian fighter roared off, trailing vapor across the cloudy sky. When it reached sufficient altitude, it warped off in a burst of blue light.

The four climbed into their Arwings, priming the engines. Krystal keyed in her pre-flight sequence, feeling the reassuring hum of the reactor under her seat. Then the G-diffuser kicked on and the craft went still. 

Over the comm, Fox cleared his throat. "Fichina Control, this is Star Fox. Requesting permission to depart."

"Roger, Star Fox." The same dour canine appeared on their HUDs. "You are cleared for takeoff."

With a quiver and a hop, the other Arwings lifted off, not with the rumble of Bill's fighter, but with a whisper. Without momentum, even the lowest setting on the thrusters kept them aloft. One by one, the rest of the team sailed up into the sky. She followed, joining formation at the back. In her rear display, the ground fell away, shrinking from a personal to a geographic scale. As they broke through the clouds, the _Great Fox II_ came into view. While not as pretty as the original, the vixen couldn't deny it had a certain charm. 

~ ~ ~

Krystal let out a deep breath as her Arwing catapulted from the _Great Fox_. The battlefield of Sector Y sprawled in all directions. Countless derelicts hung in silence, a testament to the destruction unleashed during the Lylat Wars. In the distance, the remains of a massive defense satellite floated like a shattered moon. 

With a tap of the yaw thrusters, she spun to see her teammates emerge from the dented and scorched hangar doors. Falco's Arwing coasted out next. Slippy puttered after, seated on the hover crane, his helmet rocking side-to-side in contentment. 

Fox followed with a yawn. The contract had been written the archaic legal-speak of salvage law. He'd spent the better part of the the night determining the difference between flotsam, jetsam, and lagan under interplanetary statutes. "Okay team, remember: we have permission to salvage any tech that might be dangerous in the wrong hands." He swooped under the crane, then locked formation in front to deflect debris. "In return, we're collecting any data recorders for the Cornerian Naval Museum, so keep an eye out for passive transponders."

"Swell deal Peppy got us." The bird soared above. "We're payin' to wade through this mess."

The vixen gripped her controls, trying to block out the lingering imprints of the lost crews. "Falco, show a little respect." She took up position to the right of Slippy's crane. 

Fox ignored his wingmate's grousing. "We're the first team allowed in since search and rescue. Shouldn't be anything too nasty, but watch out for live munitions." He uploaded the _Great Fox's_ scans. Various missiles lit up in the HUD. "If you have to shoot anything, get a lock and hit it from range." Fox paused, keying in signal frequencies. "Falco, scout those data recorders. Mark them on our maps so Slip can pull them later."

"Fine." The _Sky Claw_ fired its engines and wove off into the wreckage, past a hulk about the size of their carrier. "This was the worst idea…"

"With all this radiation, our radar will be spotty. Krystal, I want you watching our backs." Fox stopped before the first hulk. "I'll be helping Slippy cut loose what we need."

"Understood." She opened her mind, just a sliver. Telepathy came with a lot of 'ifs' compared to radar, but if someone living warped into the area with strong emotions, she had a good chance of sensing it.

Old-style Cornerian stenciling named it the _Pleiades_. The ship had been chosen for being the most intact sister ship of the _Great Fox II_. Even just thinking the name opened her up to the psychic residue that radiated from it like dying coals. 

The vixen adjusted her bearing to see both ships at the same time. "It really does bear an eerie resemblance to ours. Hardly reassuring."

"With a little luck, ours will come out of this looking less destroyed." Fox used his nose cone laser to slice into the shipwreck. 

"Let's see what's behind door number one." Hopping off the crane, Slippy puffed along on his jet pack and floated into the still-glowing hole.

"So many mecha." She locked onto a suit of power armor as it tumbled past. "Part of Venom's ground forces?"

McCloud shook his head in the comm display. "Shogun suits; they're designed for space combat."

Even surrounded by destruction, she had to laugh at the absurdity. "Mecha in space?" 

"They had pretty good weaponry and tough armor." In his Arwing, Fox turned to look at her. "If Andross hadn't devoted so much engineering time to making them person-shaped, we might've been in trouble."

Slippy appeared on the comm display. "The weapons are toast, but this reactor's in prime condition. I'm running some tests now—it might be better than what we have now."

Fox nodded. "Anything we can't fit in the field, we'll stow in the hangar and "

The avian's voice crackled over the comm. "Man, there's just no end to this place—"

A brilliant flash rocked the side of the _Great Fox_. 

A blast of debris shot from the side, hull shards smoldering like meteors. Dust and charred ship components rushed out in a geyser of atmosphere. 

Falco squawked in shock. "What the heck?" 

From the comm, Krystal caught the sharp whine of a hyperjump engine revving. With a waver of energy, their carrier streaked off, leaving them alone with a bogey they couldn't see. Just like they'd instructed ROB before they left. Only a cloud of glowing metal embers remained.

"All aircraft break away!" Fox barked over the comm. "Keep moving—use the wrecks as cover!"

Laser fire flashed from the avian's direction. "Looks like we've got company." 

On her radar, a swarm of tiny red dots peppered the already crowded display. 

"Drones incoming." The other vulpine growled. "Anyone have a read on their mothership?"

"No reading." A cluster of can-shaped devices closed on her Arwing. She pulsed laser shots into the group, but only took out a couple of the drones. The rest zipped up and clamped onto her ship with a series of magnetic thunks. The noise shocked her, alien in the silence of space. Their tiny blue touches flared against the dark of space and cut into the shell of her fighter. One brazen drone clamped onto the front of her canopy and bored into the glass, leaving streaks across her vision. 

A scalpel of green light cut the drone off its legs. 

Fox's Arwing buzzed hers, ripping the wicked little devices from her fuselage. 

She breathed again, watching the canopy glass fade from an angry orange glow. "Thanks, Fox."

Fox flipped his craft without changing velocity and unleashed a volley of shots over her head. "The drones are set to carve up our Arwings. Roll to shake 'em off."

Krystal double-tapped her thrusters, kicking the craft into a tight aileron roll. Drones scattered in all directions, at least a few smashing against the scored hull of the carrier. A pulse of aggression surged from the other side of the derelict. 

Before them, the a section of the _Pleiades's_ armor erupted in a shower of molten metal.

The blue vixen rolled her ship to the side and lost a wingtip in the searing fountain. "They're targeting us through the wreck!"

"Shoot those drones down—we're being marked!" The red fox pulled a U-turn and fired a tracking shot into another cluster of the bots. "Form up on my position. We'll find it by sight if we have to. Slip—"

"Fox, the comm may not be secure." The vixen pitched her Arwing down along the side of the carrier, then caught a pulse of emotion from high above. She swung out of formation and gunned her engines. "Moving to paint target. Standby." 

"What?" Concern spiked from the other vulpine. "Krystal? Krystal!"

A secondary crackle of concern trailed after from Slippy and Falco.

She couldn't risk explaining over the comm, but if she could just get closer. Following the ephemeral psychic currents, she rounded the ruined side of the _Pleiades_ and boosted through the wreckage. The other ship wasn't far off. She could feel their anger, their bloodlust. The closer she got, the sharper it became. Her cold paws cranked the lasers to maximum output. 

Then she saw it.

There, among the shipwrecks, floated the same rust-red battlecruiser they'd fought in Meteo. The reticle slid right over it, but she unleashed a charged shot of plasma, followed by hail from her twin lasers and both her nova bombs. The withering barrage ripped into the enemy hull, scattering armor and arcs of electricity. The pair of smart bombs collided with the plating and detonated with a blinding flash, vaporizing armor and floating wreckage alike. 

The next instant, a yellow field crackled around the ship in a protective bubble. Across the top deck, four turrets tracked to her and strobed pink, streaking a cannonade of plasma at her. 

Her plan had worked. 

Now she just had to keep from getting vaporized by success. 

~ ~ ~

What? I was told furry porn is supposed to have large melons unaffected by gravity. Don't dumbledangs pods count?

Art: Zaush (Used with permission.)  
Edits: Slate, Stokerbramwell, Sillyneko345, Archaesophilia, Eljot001  
Proofs: Anakuro, Darkdragon452, Flack, Thefunkyone

~Tempo


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fox finds it hard to worry about space pirates, given Krystal's hold on his heart...not to mention her muzzle around his cock.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 4  
by Tempo

_Fox finds it hard to worry about space pirates, given Krystal's hold on his heart...not to mention her muzzle around his cock._

~ ~ ~

Krystal snapped her Arwing into a tight roll. Daggers of pink plasma scattered off the tangle of inertia. With the starfield spinning around her cockpit, she struggled to evade the barrage.

Behind her, the blood-red hulk of the battlecruiser turned to bear its magnetic acceleration canon.

She gripped the joystick and swung behind a jagged section of battleship keel. As she raced past the ruined decks, plasma fire blasted craters through it. Molten slag pattered against her fuselage like rain, leaving splatters of liquid steel. "Boys! I could use some help here!"

From behind a hunk of warship, three more more blinding flashes lit the eternal night of space, each accompanied by static spiked over the comm. Krystal knew that sound. Nova bombs hitting shields.

"Oh yeah!" Falco crowed over the comm channel. "Payback time!"

"Stay clear of the bow! We won't see MAC shots coming." Laser fire lit Fox's face in the display. Two more flashes, two more spikes of static. "Krystal, do you copy?"

The vixen realized the ship above her had stopped exploding and popped up from behind it to resume firing on the battlecruiser. "Watch your tail, Fox. Those anti-fighter turrets track fast."

"Somethin's wrong with the radar." Over the comm display, Falco slapped his control console. "I'm showin' movement in the debris field."

"Aim for the top deck. I might have hit the shield generator." 

Dodging his Arwing through the streams of fire, Fox swooped in to strafe the ship with plasma bolts. "No good! The forcefield is holding."

A surge of fear emanated from the battlecruiser. Krystal's ears shot up. "They're going to warp!"

Falco dove at the ship and managed to draw the attention of whoever ran the turrets. "Taking heavy fire! I can't get through for a run…" Warning lights flashed in his cockpit. "Oh man, I'm going to have to back off!"

The smiling face of a frog winked onto the HUD display, stars twinkling behind him. "Don't worry, Slippy's here!"

From the opposite side of the battlecruiser, a battered hulk burst from the debris field. The shining struts of a hover crane clung to the bow. Across its starboard gleamed green stripes and white lettering: _Pleiades_.

Forgotten missiles and fresh plasma ripped through its hangar bay, but the old carrier plowed on. Engines at full burn, it soared toward the battlecruiser. 

Krystal caught the faint whine of hyperspace engines over the comm.

Fox's engines flashed as he boosted from the impending collision. "Break away!"

Falco's Arwing limped for a moment, then fired its boost as well.

The derelict assault carrier smashed into its target. The gleaming girders of the hover crane shattered, the hangar crumpled against the flickering yellow barrier, but, with a quiet fizzle over the comm, the shields fell. Crashing on, the _Pleiades_ rammed the center of the rust red vessel. In total silence, the ships collided, a rush of debris breaking free to tumble into the battlefield. An instant later, the battlecruiser kinked, then snapped in half, split by the wedge of the ruined carrier. Blue light crackled over the surface of both ships as the warp field wavered, then collapsed. A series of explosions swallowed the battlecruiser, launching hunks of deck plating in all directions. Blinding light sliced the void of space as the main reactor detonated, heralded only by a crackle over the radio.

Once Krystal's eyes adjusted, she could make out only a few sections of the battlecruiser that hadn't been vaporized. Rocked by the blast, the _Pleiades_ pitched forward, tumbling in a massive slow spiral as its engines burned on.

"Yippee! We did it!" On the HUD, Slippy's marker hovered far back in the battlefield. 

"Slippy, what'd ya think yer doin'?" At the edge of panic, the bird soared back in his direction. "I thought you were on that thing!"

"What? No!" Through the comm, he gave the bird a wry look. "I jumped out the airlock as soon as I got the engines on." 

Zooming in on his transponder icon, Krystal found the spacesuited frog floating with his control pad. "Nicely done, Slippy!"

Falco scowled. "Ya could've told us what you were doin'."

"Not if the comm wasn't secure." Fox kept his guns trained on the wreck, even as the _Pleiades_ sailed through its center, uglier than ever. "He made the right call. You did too, Krystal."

Around the blots of cooling steel on her canopy glass, the vixen smiled at him.

~ ~ ~

Krystal cocked an ear as she and Fox approached the avian's quarters. A continuous stream of electric guitar riffs echoed down the hall.

McCloud sniffed as they walked in the door. "Uhh! Falco, why do your quarters smell like a frat house?"

"All my beer exploded in the decompression." His beak jerked in the direction of matched holes in his floor and ceiling, both patched with foam steel. He shrugged, a drink in either hand. "What're ya gonna do?"

The vixen glanced up, down, then at the bird. "Lovely."

"Katt didn't complain. Granted, she had other things on her mind." He winked, then swept a wing at the cluster of heavy bottles on his table. "We're down to scotch or whiskey. Or one of the ones missin' a label."

"Remember, we can't all get drunk at the same time." McCloud straightened his vest and checked a status report on his comm gauntlet. "We're in unsecured space, not some Cornerian hotel."

Krystal cocked an ear. "Given their defenses, I'm not convinced there's much of a difference."

"Loosen up, will ya?" The avian crossed his wings. "We've got ROB."

"Until Slippy figures out why he keeps freezing, I wouldn't count him as sober." As they passed a music player jury-rigged into the intercom, the red fox turned down the music. "And we want to hear any alarms."

"Yer a barrel of laughs, Foxy." With a scoff, the bird led them in. He'd appointed the chamber with the dignity of a dive bar and the coherence of a garage. Various captured weapons adorned the walls, while black leather jackets ranging from sharp to simply pointy lay draped over most of the furniture. 

"In spite of the beer funk, Falco, I've never seen your quarters this clean." The leader swept a gloved paw to the lack of food wrapper mountains, molted feathers, or tables made of stacked pizza boxes.

"Ya said my room wasn't gonna vacuum itself." He clucked his tongue as he pointed at Fox's chest with both index fingers. "Turns out you were wrong." His expression fell back to normal as he patted the vulpine on the back. "By the way, gonna need a cut of that sweet salvage money for new skivvies, seein' as mine got vented into space and nobody'd help me retrieve them."

Krystal strode with them across the bare deck plates. "Some things are better resigned to the void of space."

"Hey guys!" At the other end of the room, Slippy buoyed up from connecting controllers to a game console and pointed to a punch bowl of beige glop. "I found which dehydrated powders actually were pudding!" A slow bubble burped to the surface. "I think…" 

McCloud sat down beside him, looked through the pile of grey game cartridges, and pulled one out. "Whoa, Dragon King Fracas? We haven't played that in a while."

"Yeah!" He croaked. "I finally unlocked all the characters."

He tossed the frog the game. "Fire it up, Slip."

With a glimmer of boyish glee, Fox and Slippy donned bulky red VR visors, while a screen showed the action, though not in 3D. Their characters bounced around the screen, trying to brawl each other off a series of platforms. 

On the sofa, the avian leaned in, the hot scent of whiskey rolling from his beak. "Ya know, as the other sex symbol on the team, I get ya." He bumped her with a conspiratorial elbow. "We're both overloaded reactors of sexual energy. But we've gotta keep it contained for the sake of the team."

The vixen glanced his way, her face painted in shades of confusion. "Do you hear the things that come out of your beak? Or have even you stopped listening now?"

He gave a cool shrug. "Just sayin', whatever ya did while you were gone, I hope you got it outta yer system." 

A sigh of exasperation escaped her muzzle. "Falco, what are you on about?"

His fingers spread at her from around his glass. "Panther."

"Panther Caroso? His idea of flirtation is gunning for me in a dogfight." She propped a hand on her hip and swept the other at the avian. "He's like a shady, slutty version of you."

His feathers puffed in a ruffle. "Hey, I get around!"

"Don't lie to an empath, Falco. Who do you think reports your lack of a sex life to Katt?" 

His crest fell and wings crossed. "Look, just don't break up with Fox, okay?"

"Awww, you care about his feelings." She patted his shoulder. 

"Of course I do!" The bird gaze dropped as he swirled his drink. "He's even less fun when you're gone."

~ ~ ~

Hours later, Krystal had worn past the post-victory buzz and had even found a halfway palatable wine among Falco's mystery bottles, with which she'd plied her fellow vulpine. This resulted in Slippy's eventual victory, which resulted in the now rather toasty avian challenging the winner.

Fox plopped down beside her on the sofa. 

Her fingers touched his arm, cool blue against his autumn tones, taking stock of his emotions. A little red in the ears, but not inebriated; tired, but not sleepy. She met his eyes, then glanced at the door.

"Okay guys, I think we're gonna take off for the night."

"What? C'mon!" Falco flipped his VR visor up. "Things are just gettin' good!"

Fox stood and, with a sweet little smile, helped Krystal to her feet. She waved and faked a yawn. "Goodnight, boys."

"Night!" Slippy never looked up from game, his thumbs dancing across the controller, his character locked in melee with Falco's. 

"Oh, I see how it is!" The bird laughed as the couple headed back across his quarters, paw in paw. "Yer just lucky she's into short guys, Fox."

Krystal giggled. 

McCloud rolled his eyes as the doors hissed shut. 

Around the corner, they boarded the lift. As the elevator thrummed downward, Krystal couldn't suppress a confession. "I do sometimes wear heels just to be taller than you."

His ears shot up. "Hey!"

"Aww." She shrugged an arm around his shoulders. "C'mere, my little foxy-woxy."

Flustered, he looked at her askance. "I'm not actually that little."

Her paw patted his crotch. "Not where it counts, anyway." 

Standing ramrod straight, Fox swallowed and stammered, only to be interrupted by the opening lift. 

Just as the vixen began to worry she'd been gone too fast for him, he groped her tail as they walked down the corridor. Laughter overtook them as she grabbed at his own; before long, they'd chased each other to her quarters. The door to hissed open, allowing the two merry foxes to amble in, arms around each other's shoulders. Whenever she looked at him, the warm glow to her cheeks couldn't be explained just by Falco breaking out his stash of whiskey. Mischief rose in her thoughts. "I'm not sure I buy your line about being a virgin. I've heard a lot of stories about you and Wolf O'Donnell."

"Jeez laweez." Fox threw his paws in the air. "Ya ride on a guy's wing _one_ time to save Corneria…" 

Her whiskers lifted in a smile. "In CloudRunner culture, that could count as a marriage proposal."

"We've never even been in the same room!" His tail ruffled. "I've shot down that rumor more times than I've shot down Wolf."

"You should ignore it. Anything else just encourages it." She looked him over, no doubt taking in his emotional state. "I'm glad you're okay with my being an empath. Most guys would find that intimidating."

The red fox shrugged. "We all have our quirks. I see visions of my dead father. Slippy's spirit animal is ice cream toppings. Falco once took a blow to the head and spent a week thinking he was a mobster named 'Don Falconi'."

"How adorably dangerous." She hooked her arm around his. "I shall have to watch myself around our resident gangster."

"My money's on Slippy tonight; he knows combos." McCloud chuckled. "Falco just spams a couple good moves."

"I'm afraid I agree." The vixen patted his arm as she clicked the bedside lamp on. "Not to mention our beloved bird is rather sauced. He kept prattling on about his idea for food-cube moonshine." With low lights and laughter, her quarters felt downright domestic. She flashed him a half-serious glance. "You can't let him brew that stuff, Fox."

He waved a paw, tugging off his comm gauntlets and tossing them on the sofa. "I'll just remind him he can't fly if it makes him blind."

Quiet fell between the silk-draped bulkheads. Her thoughts caught up with her. "I wanted to thank you…for what you said out there." She touched his arm, slinking close. "About my making the right call."

"Piece of cake." A wry grin ran interference for his concerned eyes. "I am being totally supportive of you risking your life for me. Yep."

"Really, Fox." Her blue-furred paw traced his chest. "I know your first instinct is to protect me." 

"I've learned to trust my instincts over the years, but I can't argue with results." His paw settled on her hip. Whiskers brushed. "Or with how good you are for me."

"You're good for me, too." She leaned in close, their noses almost touching. 

"I do my best." He kissed her. 

With a look deep in his green eyes, she untied his scarf and let it drop to the carpet. Heart racing, she placed his paw on her jumpsuit zipper. 

He slipped her out of the garment, then unsnapped her tail bands. His fingertips trailed through her cheek ruff to get lost in her hair, knocking free her hairband. Fox kissed down her neck, then got bold and nibbled down the fur of her shoulder. 

Eager blue paws slid the vest off his shoulders and unzipped his flight suit. She swooped back to eye level and locked lips with him. 

McCloud stepped out of his boots and socks without missing a kiss. Hips grinding along hers, pressing the bulge in his shorts against her panties. Though the thin fabric, the heat of his passion touched off her own. 

With a sweep of her arms, she doffed her shirt and guided him in unclasping her bra. As the silky garment fluttered to the floor, his warm paws cupped her breasts. Tan fur mingled with her blue and white, rough paw pads caressing her sensitive nipples. His fingertips squeezed, just a little, exploring the feel of her pert breasts as he nuzzled along her neck.

Taking him by the hips, she sat on the bed. Kneeling with care, he came in for a landing between her thighs. Their muzzles locked, tongues tracing together. His unsteady hand stroked her inner thigh, then reached the thin material of her panties. There, he stroked her folds, even slipping a finger or two under the fabric to stir her thin pubic fur. Then, with a look of mischief, he hooked his fingers in the waistband and rolled them down her legs. Naked and aroused, she basked in his scent, his touch, his radiant love.

She realized, however, that he wasn't quite as naked. Looking to settle the score, she leaned forward, teased her paw pads over the front of his boxers, and relieved him of them. The waistband caught on his erection, so as soon as she tugged it free, his length bobbed out before her, right at hand height. With a wag of glee, the vixen's paws traced his cock, stroking from head to sheath to fluffy scrotum. 

He moaned, eyes closed as he enjoyed the sensation of her paws. After a few seconds, he almost lost his balance and had to steady himself on her her thigh with a sheepish grin. 

Again, her grasp closed around his base, right where his knot would form, and drew him closer, closer, until that pretty pink tip rubbed into her folds, hot and smooth. His desire washed over her. After what they'd gone through, he wanted to tie her and never come unstuck. 

His stiffness bumped her slit, leaving traces of moisture in the thin white fur. Ears erect as his dick, his eyes leveled on hers as he pressed in. Breath caught in his throat as he sunk halfway into her wet and waiting folds.

Krystal bit her lip, nervous. A steeling breath later, she wrapped her arms around his back, her ankles on his rump, and urged him deeper. 

Knees shuffling forward, toes braced against the carpet, he thrust deep into her, then pulled out, fumbling into a rhythm, getting himself slick with her juices. The harder he thrusted, the louder she moaned in pleasure, which only made him try to bury his dick deeper. Caught in this feedback loop of passion, she rocked her hips up to meet his, her breaths coming hot and ragged. The swell of his knot stretched her lips with every thrust. 

The red fox tucked his chin over her shoulder, teeth set as he pounded into her. That fluffy tail practiced touch-and-go landings with the carpet with every swing of his hips. His mind radiated pleasure, wonder, devotion. Coupled with the unfamiliar thrill of having her lover at last inside her, the swirl of emotion and sensation overwhelmed the vixen.

Fox's eyes fluttered shut. Gasping, he shuddered, clutched her back, and humped with desperate need. That canid bulge popped in and out, stretching her tender folds, until one final thrust. His cock throbbed and, a heartbeat later, she felt him spraying shots of slick heat deep inside her. 

Savoring the delicate moment, Krystal stroked his fur as he pulsed her full of sticky warmth. His orgasm hummed through her mind, sending shivers of arousal through her being. When his breaths calmed from a frenzied panting, she peeked past her breasts. The pink of his knot, smeared with rich seed, sat between their white stomach pelts. 

Without letting him go, she rolled the speechless star pilot onto his back. A tremor of mutual ecstasy slid him free. She straddled him, dripping their mixed fluids across his thigh in the process. While Fox lay moaning, she fumbled his softening shaft back to her entrance and sank onto him. With practiced ease, her deft fingertips glided to her clit. Masturbating with him inside her felt different, even from her toys. Brimming with hot life, even half-soft, his shaft offered a delightful surface to press her tender nub against. 

One paw on his chest, she felt his heartbeat while she fingered herself. Her lover's paws found her thighs as his amorous eyes found her heart. Her passion, stoked by his own, soared to a roaring blaze within her. Her hips bucked, jostling his balls against her tail base.

The vixen yipped and tensed, shivering into orgasm with his softening cock inside her. 

Bliss swept her mind. 

Love bore aloft her soul. 

Pleasure rocked her body. 

Krystal's eyes squeezed shut as her muscles bore down. Her tail whipped atop the bed. Semen-slicked paw pads trembled on her clitoris as she threw her head back in elation. Under and within her, Fox's cock swelled.

"Uhh!" He gripped her thighs, grinding himself deeper. His tip spread her depths as his growing knot stretched her lips. He now penetrated her with a layer of sensual slipperiness, dancing between slickness and friction. Bed frame banging against the bulkheads, they made clumsy, frantic, wholehearted love. 

"Can you tie me, Fox?" Blushing, tail flagged, she breathed an urgent whisper in his ear. "I want to feel it."

Eyes closed, teeth set, the todd nodded. With a grunt of effort, he shoved the knot hard against her. His hips bucked up at hers, working that splendid girth against her tender walls. His slickness clung to her folds, her orgasm relaxing them enough to let his knot press deeper, deeper…

Pop.

Atop her, Fox arched his back, yowling in wonder as he buried his knot in her for the first time. His balls jumped against her sticky, fluffy tail. His teeth set as he spurted a second load of semen into her already slippery passage. 

The blue vixen gasped as she felt him pulse larger within her. A glance down his toned stomach showed his sheath bunched against her folds. She panted, never having felt so full—a physical tie to match their empathic one. One shiver away from an orgasm, her paw raced to her throbbing clit, working it with frantic desire against the bulge within her. Her climax hit like a nova bomb: a sudden all-consuming rush, followed by a lingering buzz of energy. Her hips ground up at him, her legs clinging him close and deep. Every convulsion of her muscles squeezed her harder on that lovely knot of flesh, on that pulsing shaft. 

"Wow…" She panted. Trembling fingertips traced her mound, feeling its familiar curves swollen over his bulge. "I've dreamt of this for ages."

Fox moaned distant agreement into her shoulder. His weight had collapsed fully onto her, leaving him in the process of passing out. 

The vixen patted his back.

~ ~ ~

"We came all this way for a rug shop?" Krystal studied a row of stained carpets, which hung on racks throughout the store. "A used rug shop?"

Katt's slitted eyes glinted from between the slats of the next rack. "We're treasure hunting."

The vixen rolled her eyes. When Katt demanded their "ladies night" begin in the afternoon, she might have expected a little shopping. But after they'd landed her pastel pink spaceship in a valley of run-down skyscrapers and crumbling factories, she started to worry. This quarter of Corneria City remained one of the last to be cleaned up after the Aparoid invasion, in both a physical and legal sense. Just walking from the landing pad to this shop, various mountebanks had tried to sell them pheromone perfumes, something called "energy balls," and even game cartridges without a manufacturer's gold seal of quality.

A plump white rat popped his head from the back room. His whiskers twitched up as he recognized the feline. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Monroe."

"If it isn't, the world should worry." Katt groomed invisible dirt off one claw. "I can't abide copycats." 

The shopkeep scurried to the front door, locked it, and pulled the shade. He bobbed back to face them, his tail sweeping under a hundred carpet fringes. "Here for anything special?"

She ran a paw down the slinky coral dress that did nothing to hide the blaster at her hip. "What've ya got that goes with space battles?"

The rodent's eyes flicked to Krystal, then back again. He jerked a naked thumb in her direction. "She cool?"

The feline purred with amusement. "Would I be seen with her if she wasn't?"

He smoothed a shirt slightly too small for his pudge. "Got a few new things…" He led them to an unattractive carpet hung on one wall, tugged it down, then let it retract up onto an oversized blind reel. He pulled a thin chain, letting a light flicker to life above the cavernous space. 

Beyond, lay battalions of rifles, back issues of magazines, and mannequins of body armor. Ship components leaned against the walls. Standing guard at the end of the room, a suit of power armor brushed against the ceiling, bristling with machine guns. 

Katt hefted a large gun from the table, wires dangling from one end. "Does this come in pink?"

The merchant crossed his arms. "Lady, it's a plasma cannon."

"That doesn't answer my question." Her white-fingered paw stroked down its wide barrel. "Could you have it plated?"

"If it'd make you finally buy the thing, I'd have it candy-coated." He turned to the vixen. "How 'bout you, toots? Got my paws on a case of Ninjin missiles. They're recovered, so I'm offering a full replacement guarantee."

Krystal wondered how many customers would live to complain about the missiles malfunctioning. "I believe I'll browse for the moment." She leaned in beside the feline, whispering. "This can't be legal."

"Look, hun, I'm not lucky enough to have the guy who designed this stuff working for me. And better me than some crook." Her tail swished as she mused over her reflection in the pink scope lens of a sniper rifle. "Besides, this guy has connections. One time I— Krystal? Hey, are you even listening?"

The fox wasn't listening. As she slipped past a bin of grenades marked "Factory seconds—clearance!", her ears swivel up and forward. A high-pitch plink played over and over; a sound she knew quite well. The light of a flickering screen backlit a row of assault blasters, which she sidled by. Only then did she spot her target.

There, in the corner beside half of an Aparoid radar jammer, sat a targeting computer, still scuffed where drones had clamped on to steal it.

An Arwing targeting computer. 

She grinned. Maybe she ought to let Katt take her treasure hunting more often.

~ ~ ~

The hangar bay humming and massive around him, Fox McCloud squeezed the plush bafomdad with one paw.

The toy chirped a saccharine titter. "I'm Starduster and I love you!"

With a sigh, he shrugged. "They still annoy me less than the tourists."

Without a word, Falco grabbed the device and booted it down the length of the hangar. It sailed in the weak gravity, chortling all the while. Its electronic jabbers ceased an instant later when he drew his blaster and fired. A scatter of stuffing fluttered down on the endless sea of pastel plushes. They stared in unblinking glee as their vaporized fellow rained down atop them, floating beyond the gravity plating.

Fox had just enough time to cock an ear at his wingmate before the hangar doors groaned open. 

They turned to see the _Cloud Runner_ drift in on docking thrusters. Mooring clamps hissed into place and secured the craft. With a little smile that made her lover blush, the blue fox popped her canopy and surveyed the hovering masses of multicolored fluff balls. "New passengers?"

"Unclaimed freight." McCloud took her paw and helped her from the cockpit. "The client paid us to haul them away."

"Foxy figures somebody'll want 'em." The bird rolled his eyes and holstered his blaster pistol. "I say we blackmail people to not have 'em dropped on their planet."

"Surely someone would want them." Her teal eyes skimmed the round plush creatures. "They're rather cute."

The bay doors sealed with a resounding slam, setting off the toys in an erie chorus: "I'M STARDUSTER AND I LOVE YOU!"

Hackles standing on end, Krystal squeezed her lover's paw. "On second thought, perhaps we had better dump them in the nearest star." 

Fox kept a sly eye on her tail as she bent to adjust something on her Arwing. She'd worn the gold tail rings today, along with a simple hairband and etched gorget. Her black jumpsuit clung just enough to hint at the lean, muscular frame beneath. 

The cargo hatch dropped open with a whir of hydraulics, allowing her to haul out a device about the size of a loaf of bread. A stamped Space Dynamics logo emblazoned the top of the metal case. 

The red fox looked it over, then met her eyes. "A targeting computer?"

She set it on Slippy's workbench. Dangling over the edge, the cords swung. "Our targeting computer."

McCloud scratched his chin. "Where'd you get it?"

"I bought it." Her paw rested atop the device. "And information on where it came from."

"We know where it came from." Falco crossed his wings. "Vaporized pirates."

"But are they all dead?" Fox crossed his arms. "And why'd they come after us?"

She nodded. "Precisely. I followed the chain of middlemen until it left the planet." From her belt pouch, she drew a slim tablet. "I didn't get a name, but I got this info on the ship that brought it in is outfitted." She handed him the screen of statistics. "We'll need your connections in the military to pursue it further."

Fox took the tablet and flicked through the images of the ship. "I can forward this to Bill." He looked up. "Won't the fence you talked to tip them off?"

"The seller didn't realize he was being interrogated." Tail swishing, her hands found her hips. "I can be gentle, you know."

"Oh, Fox knows…" The avian elbowed his wingman in the ribs. 

Running a paw through her hair, the vixen groaned. "Falco, Katt is about five minutes behind me."

"What?!" His throat feathers ruffled in an instant, which tucked back under his collar in frantic irritation. "Why didn't ya call ahead and warn me?"

"To only give you five minutes." A smirk spread across her muzzle. "I figured you'd do something to deserve it the meantime."

Fox couldn't help but chuckle as the flustered falcon raced off to preen his feathers to a meticulous tousle. The door hissed shut after him and the vulpines' glances met. "I never asked, can you sense when they…?"

"Unless I distract myself, yes." Her gaze locked on his wagging tail. "Why do you ask?"

Slinking a little closer, he slid his hand to her hip. "Maybe I can help you out."

~ ~ ~

Minutes later, having torn each other's clothes off, he straddled her stomach. His knees sunk into her foam mattress as his erection throbbed, heavy and hot, between her breasts. His paw curled around the sheath, massaging the growing knot. His tip bobbed up in her cleavage, soft fur stimulating his tender stiffness. He wagged. "Is this what you wanted?"

"Mmmhmm." Her hands gripped his buttocks, guiding his pink, shiny, slippery cock to her muzzle. "But I'd like it even better in my mouth."

The tease of her whiskers dancing along his shaft made him gasp. The love in her eyes made him blush; the lust on her breath made him drip a little. He flashed a cheeky grin and rubbed his shaft over her muzzle, smearing hot clear precum over her chin. 

Her lips curled to a smile, pressed to his cock head in a sticky kiss. With a moan of desire, she opened her mouth around his tip, greeting him with wondrous warmth. She raised her head from the pillow and sucked Fox's cock into her delicate muzzle.

As her head rose to slurp up his length once again, aqua eyes on his, he almost came. His heart thundered at the sight: his fearless, feisty beauty sucking his knotted cock like a vixen on a mission. 

That supple tongue curled around the head. She licked it again and again, cooing and moaning, her thighs rubbing together under his fluffy tail. Her fingers stroked through the fur of his rump. Hums and moans of satisfaction filled the room as she suckled his tender cock head. 

His balls twitched against the underside of her breasts, knot spreading in that valley of white fur. "H-here it comes!"

His thick pink erection sliding into her muzzle, Krystal bobbed her head to suck him as deep as she could reach, moaning in delight, and hummed. The vibration reverberated through his whole length, launching him over the edge. 

A shudder emanated from deep in his soul, racing forth as a surge of pleasure up his shaft. A second rush brought a spurt of semen spraying her open mouth. 

That silken tongue curled under his tip, urging more, ever more.

Yowling and gasping, he squirted another string of white across her lips and, before it could even drip to her chest, a third along her tongue. After that, he lost track, his life wrapped up in blasts of pleasure that began in his soaring heart and ended in a sticky mess on her facial fur. A groan rumbled in his throat as he milked the last of his seed into Krystal's waiting mouth. 

Spent, Fox panted and watched the world through a pleasant haze. Awash in afterglow, his mind reeled. Under him, he could feel her hand moving. A glance back revealed her fingers dancing over her clit. Lewd mischief kindled in his pleasure-soaked brain. With a growl of unabashed lust, he climbed to the foot of the bed and spread her thighs. He sniffed closer, breathing her musk, her sweet feminine scent, that tang of arousal. Unable to wait any longer, he buried his muzzle in her folds and lapped with eager abandon. Her taste, the silken texture of her folds, drove him wild. Half-sheathed and orgasm-sore, his cock pulsed at the scent and sensations. He licked her lips, savoring the flavor. Slipping his tongue as far as it reached inside her, he swirled it around her walls. 

A sudden gasp lifted the vixen's chest. Sticky fingertips found his ears, pressing him to her slit while her free paw toyed with her stiff nipples. 

He moaned and came up for air, licking and kissing his way around her entrance. Lips closing on her nub, he suckled it with sloppy affection. Every yip of pleasure spurred him on. He gripped her blue-furred thighs and licked that much faster.

Krystal bucked against his muzzle and kicked her feet out to either side of him. Her fingers tangled in his short hair, caught in the grips of a shivering orgasm. "Oooh, Fox!" That supple tail lashed under his chest. "Ooooooooohhhhh!"

He stayed on target, not letting her shake him, as he lathered her folds with kisses until she curled into a shivering ball in climax. His tongue, straining from exertion, lavished her stiff little bud until she could take no more and guided him down to her passion-slicked folds. His lover writhing under him, he continued his attentions as she calmed down. 

That strong paw released its grip on the back of his head, while the other trembled loose from a handful of sheets. Breaths rushed like solar wind in the dark of her quarters. 

Wiping her juices from his whiskers, he took up his position at her side and held her as aftershocks shivered down her nerves. Through their mingling pelts, he felt the faint thunder of her heartbeat. He kissed her forehead and his nose bumped the golden hairband passion had forgotten. 

Time drifted on in a warm embrace until a light and beeping emanated from behind him. With a groan, he rolled and grabbed his comm gauntlet from the floor. Probably Slippy, probably one of the salvaged parts falling off into the atmosphere or something.

To his surprise, the screen read: "Live message — channel secure. Commander Bill Grey."

Fox almost hit the respond button, then thought better of it. With the bedside lamp and a shirt on, he angled the camera to only see his face and the window behind him. Then he answered.

"Yo Fox." The dog's floating hologram head materialized and looked around the darkness. "Is now a bad time?"

McCloud glanced out of the camera's view, to Krystal's drowsing form, naked and smiling. "No, now's a great time."

"Heard you took down the battlecruiser beefin' on you." Bill's holographic head nodded, ears flopping. "Tight."

"Tighter than you think." The vulpine rubbed his eyes, relaxation evaporating at the memory. "Our lasers couldn't break through their shields. Slippy thinks it's old Venom tech."

"Little dude's probably right." He woofed a dark chuckle. "Got the skinny on your 'rats—and here's a twist: looks like they're based out of Astropolis."

"Astropolis?" The red fox cocked an ear. "Didn't that explode, fall into a star, then explode again?"

"One of the few highlights of history class, but check this." The hologram shivered, shifted, and revealed a city sprawling against the stars. Skyscrapers sprouted from shining streets that ended in a jagged fissure above the void, all within a massive metal shell. "From their ship's data recorder."

"That can't be right." McCloud kept his voice down, trying not to wake his lover. "Must be an old scan."

"Timestamp says a week ago." The projection flickered, but Bill's voice continued on. "And it'd confirm some rumors we've been hearing."

"How am I supposed to find it if the military can't?"

Bill grinned. "Well, for starters, we're not the ones with a telepath."

~ ~ ~

Art: Zaush (Used with permission.)  
Edits: Slate, Stokerbramwell, Sillyneko345, Archaesophilia, Eljot001  
Proofs: Anakuro, Darkdragon, Flack, Thefunkyone

As the ever-wise Sillyneko pointed out: "Every hero has to have an Achilles heel. Fox's happens to be blue."

~Tempo


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krystal savors her new relationship with Fox as the Starfox team investigates the forgotten ruins of Astropolis.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 5  
by Tempo

~ ~ ~

Astropolis gleamed, lost, against eternal stars. Even as a shard of its former self, the city spanned several kilometers. Stars refracted through its domed atmospheric cover in subtle rainbows. Spires and skyscrapers within glimmered in the light of two distant suns.

Even with Bill's tip, they'd spent weeks searching for it. Adrift in the asteroid belt, on the far side of Lylat and out of the historical record, Krystal saw how the structure had escaped notice for a generation. She cast her mind through the ruins, the few impressions she sensed scattered through the sprawling complex. 

As the vixen rounded the far side, scoring and burn marks marred the crystalline dome. A narrow skybridge had once connected this capsule of civilization to a much larger structure, but nothing remained now but jagged girders grasping the void. The rest of the floating city had plummeted into a star decades ago. Its sweeping architecture soared on, however, aloof in the face of its own destruction.

"It's lovely… I wasn't expecting that." She shook her head, drawing her perceptions back inside herself. "I'm not sensing anyone aboard."

A warble of electronic warnings arose from her controls. 

"Then who's lockin' onto us?" Falco Lombardi's face blinked onto the HUD.

A scatter of tiny red dots peppered her radar screen, pouring from the domed city. Around the perimeter of the star city, turrets spun and glowed to life.

Slippy croaked with anxiety: "Enemy drones incoming!"

"More drones?" The falcon scoffed. "Gimme a break."

"They're certainly cheaper than former gang members." Krystal chided. "And they complain less."

"Split up!" Fox barked into the comm. "Falco, take out the drone bays."

"Don't gotta tell me twice." To port, the bird rolled his Arwing out formation. 

Strings of plasma bolts raced from the periphery of the massive structure. The team dove apart, letting the hail of fire streak into space. 

"Krystal, Slippy, let's take out those turrets." Fox broke off, firing into a cluster of drones. Several of them burst in silent flares of red. "Watch out for the drones. Don't slow down—don't let 'em attach."

The vixen banked toward the nearest turret, then saw several smoldering craters pop across the nose of her fighter. Her teeth grit. "These ones have blasters." With a double-tap of the thrusters, she spun hard and heard a few more shots plink off the craft. "Fantastic." Coming out of the twirl, she flicked the shields from deflection to combat mode.

The frog groaned as can-shaped robots pelted his own fighter. "This is really starting to tick me off; I just fixed the Arwings!"

Fox's Arwing swung to the right and vaporized a row of turrets. Krystal took what was left. 

The brilliant flash of a nova bomb strobed from the underside of the city. Falco talked over the resulting crackle on the comm. "Drone bay's toast. Good riddance."

"Good job." Fox nodded on the HUD. "Take out the last of ‘em while we get the turrets." 

The avian cawed a laugh. "Ya know, I still vote for blowin' the whole thing up." 

Krystal punched the boosters and tore off toward the floating city. Nosing up, she flipped the _Cloud Runner_ backward and, as blaster bolts sizzled on her shields, picked off the drones following her. As the last hunter drone burst in a blaze of laser impact, she pointed the ship forward to swerve up from hitting Astropolis. Cruising below the arc of fire, she strafed the line of turrets. Glowing metal shards clanked off her canopy, louder to her than the explosions that cast them off. "If the Cornerian military just wanted the place to explode, I'm certain they'd manage without hiring us." 

"Our reputation bein' one of subtlety." Far above the bird sailed, picking off the drones that had been chasing Slippy in circles for the past few seconds. 

Fox's yellow ID tag popped up on the front of her canopy as the vulpines neared the same horizon. "They want to know who sold them out, and that means getting our hands on data. We can't get that by blowing it up."

To keep from smashing into his Arwing, Krystal shifted to one side of the row of guns, then spun to keep them in her sights. Her lover did the same, glancing up as he swung past. The last of the batteries withered under their combined fire. 

"You okay over there, Krystal?" A flicker of concern crossed his face on the projected display. His worry seeped over from the passing fighter. "Looks like you took a few—"

"I'm fine." She rolled her eyes and burned back toward the rest of the team. A pair of damaged turrets sputtered potshots as she passed, but seemed unable to track her.

Slippy ribbited with glee. "Structure analyzed!" His Arwing rolled into place over a specific point on the outer ring. "Cover me while I cut their main power line." An instant later, a pinpoint of brilliant light flared on the metal surface as he started drilling inside with the craft's main laser. "This should only take a minute…"

The vulpines joined Falco in orbiting the stationary frog, each craft a little further out to avoid collisions. The dozen or so remaining drones swept near and burst in little blossoms of flame against the eternal night. As she looped in dizzying circles, some primal part of the vixen still missed momentum, but she deemed it a fair tradeoff for not blacking out. Just like how she knew Fox only wanted her safe because he loved her, even as some deep and primitive part of her brain rankled at his coddling her. 

Astropolis fell dark. A hiss she hadn't noticed evaporated from the comm channel. 

Slowing, the team took up positions around the amphibian's Arwing. 

"Brilliant job, Slippy." Krystal double-checked her radar and found it void of engine signatures. "Looks like we're in the clear."

Fox gave a curt nod over the HUD. "Good job, team." 

A burst of excitement radiating from him, Slippy piped up. "I've found a docking bay, but, without power or access codes, it’ll take some work to get it open."

The vixen cast her mind again through the forgotten city, still finding no one. A strange place to leave so empty, one's home. But then, they often left the _Great Fox II_ in the hands of a robot with a habit of blinking on and off repeatedly if his system thinks you've inserted pirated software.

~ ~ ~

The four Arwings settled to the deck of a large, dim hangar. Around them, a vast array of crates stood in stacks, some sealed, some spilling their stolen contents. Weapons and fuel packets hung on haphazard racks and piles along the walls. More than a few bore the insignia of Andross's mercenary army. 

The heavy airlock doors hung open, though a buzzing energy screen kept the air in. Like a deflector screen in reverse, it'd let them in just fine, but would resist letting anything out. Tied into emergency power perhaps? In that case, it might not last. He swallowed.

"Suits on, guys." Fox hit a button on the collar of his flight jacket, then watched as the helmet flipped forward from the small of his back to fold around his head. Meant to be triggered by decompression, he appreciated that activating it manually gave him time to get his neck fur out of the seal. HUD elements flickered to life on the glass, crisp and cheery against the hangar’s gloom. "Let's not take any chances here." Double-checking the holstered blaster at his hip, he keyed the Arwing into standby mode. "Sensing anything, Krystal?"

"Quite a lot; none of it useful..." She shook her head. "Sorry, this place has layers of history imprinted on it. I don't sense any emotions here but ours, however."

He unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat and popped the hatch. 

Falco glanced through his canopy at the glow of emergency lights. "I thought ya cut the power?"

"I cut the lines to the main reactor." Slippy's head bobbed up in his cockpit, somehow even rounder under a space helmet. "But a structure this big has reserve power. I'd really like to see how this place is put together."

"You and half of Lylat." The red fox chuckled. "Not every day you find an Andross design that does something other than try to kill us."

Falco cawed. "Everybody's early work's their best. It's never the same once they get a big head from the fame."

The blue vixen cocked an ear as the helmet folded over her head. "I take it you'll be retiring now, while your ego still fits in an Arwing?"

"Fuuun-ny." The avian crossed his wings and activated his own suit. "I'm not the one who wears jewelry in a space fighter."

Fox climbed out of his cockpit and down the craft's fold-out steps to the dust-streaked floor. "I'll slip in, get the data, and open the blast doors so you guys can cover my exit. Let me know if any other ships warp in."

The bird scoffed. "Playin' the hero again, huh, Foxy?"

McCloud opened his Arwing's storage hatch and drew out an assault blaster and a belt of grenades. "If you had a tenth the ground combat experience I do, I'd be sending you in here." His free hand clicked on the lamp on his helmet. 

"Hey, more power to ya, buddy." Smirking, the falcon shrugged. "Me? I hate suffocatin' in the void of space."

A few kilos of explosive secured around his waist, he looped the rifle's sling around his shoulder, then clicked on its flashlight. Cold calm crept over his mind as he steeled himself for whatever lay in those dark corridors. "Slippy, you're with me."

The frog's eyes popped wide. "Ya know, I don't like suffocating in space either." He clamored out of the cockpit, down the steps, then under the craft to grapple with a large, lumpy duffle. 

With a smirk, the red fox clicked on Slippy's forgotten visor lamp. "I'll keep that in mind."

Krystal's concern echoed across the comm channel. "Be careful, Fox."

A glance up brought their gazes together. "Ah, you too, Krystal." He straightened, tail stiff. "Everybody stay sharp."

Together, frog and fox entered the gloomy passages. Even with emergency lighting, darkness clung to every twist of the corridor. Duffle bag bouncing at his hip, Slippy flicked through an old map of the city on his tablet; he'd downloaded it from the Lylat Bureau of Public Works. "The control center is just ahead."

After another pressure lock, the pressure sensor on Fox's suit still read 'safe,' but he kept his helmet on. The rough part of dating a telepath is her knowing when you took unnecessary risks. 

They exited the hangar complex into an open courtyard. Astropolis towered and sprawled in waned glory. Skyscrapers soared against the void, almost reaching the clear dome beyond. Distant sunlight gleamed on glass and steel. Looking down the street, Fox could see all the way to a starscape spread like a banner between the buildings. Shafts of light cleaved the dim metal valleys to warm the pavement. Here and there, shops and statues stood half-finished, awaiting artisans who'd never return. 

Countless small, dead trees still held their leaves in perfect stillness, freeze-dried by cold decades in space. Their passing stirred the odd leaf into a final spiral, leading to a crumbling puff as it hit the ground. They hurried through rows of trees, some still bundled in root bags. Boots crushing dead grass to powder, they crossed a courtyard to a structure of sweeping grandeur. Its sign lay half-unpacked from a padded crate, but the visible part read "Section Control Complex." An ID reader at the door had been torn off and the reinforced doors blasted open. A glance passed between the fox and frog. Slippy shrugged, a breath fogging his faceplate, and waggled on…after McCloud slipped in first.

The vulpine hustled down the corridor, his gun's flashlight cutting the darkness. Here and there, pale emergency lighting lit crumpled trash on the floor. His HUD radar showed nothing. "It's quiet."

The amphibian nodded, studied his tablet, and lugged his duffle. The top of his helmet squashed the old ball cap he wore. He pointed. "I think this is it, right up here." 

At the end of a corridor that looked just like all the other grey metal corridors, Slippy stopped and, with a broad grin, swept a gloved hand at the door. Together, they forced it open. 

Inside, the monitors sprung from all vertical surfaces, though most hung dark. A few readouts scrolled emergency data. At one of the stations, a rotund robot twisted at the waist to face them. White eyes gleamed in the dark, flickering a slice of light over their faces. A click, then a mechanical whir. "Identities not confirmed." An electronic whine spiked through the audible range. 

Fox dove, knocking Slippy to the ground as a streak of laser ripped across the bulkhead. From under a console, he tracked onto the bot's wide belly and opened fire. Bolts of green plasma shredded its metal carapace and flashed the ancient wiring into a roaring bonfire. 

With a squeal of rotors, the android pitched backward and clanged to the deck plates like a cast-iron bell. The blinding sear of its laser flickered out, leaving only faint, tinny oinks echoing from its speakers.

"Must've hit a fuel cell." The vulpine kept an eye on the blazing pig. "Slip, do your thing."

"You got it, Fox." The frog bounded to the main control panel and swept his fingertips across the glassy surface. He flicked through a few screens, then provoked a series of grumbling buzzes. "Uh-oh."

"You're makin' me nervous again." In the light of a burning robot, he glanced at the amphibian. 

"The data's encrypted." Hands on his hips, the frog pondered the interface. "I won't be able to download it like this."

Krystal's voice echoed over his headset. "Are you going to hack in?"

Slippy rummaged in his pack for a moment and emerged with an industrial plasma torch. It hissed like a venomous snake when flicked on, the blue-green light blinding in the dim room, casting the amphibian's gleeful grin in stark shadows. "Yep!"

Fox fluffed his tail inside his space suit, gun at the ready. "Keep it quick. And don't set off any booby traps."

"No problem!" Affixing a welding visor over his faceplate, he crawled under the instrument panel. 

The red fox slunk closer to the robot's blazing shell, which cast eerie shadows along the walls. A bronze nameplate stamped 'Herbert' emblazoned what remained of its chest. 

A few seconds later, the flashes from the torch vanished with a pop. Torso-deep in the console, the mechanic yanked something free and popped up. Data core glinting in the flickering firelight, he held it high and croaked with pride. "I got it!"

Klaxons blared. Red lights flashed all around them.

Fox's hackles rose. "Krystal, Falco, we tripped some kind of alarm. Can you—" Their ID tags had vanished from his HUD. A worry crossed his mind. He traced a finger along his headset, turned off the squelcher, and heard only static. "Of course." A droning noise perked his ears. It got louder…closer… Fox loaded a fresh clip of ammo in the dying firelight of the roasted robo-pig. "It's time for us to go." 

The frog bounced around, stuffing scattered gadgetry in his duffle. "Just gimme a sec to pack my tools."

Something banged against the far door. Something heavy. The distinctive hiss of a laser scoured the other side. 

Fox grabbed the mechanic by his shoulder, gun at the ready. "Now!" He backpedaled from the control room, weapon in one paw, frog in the other. Above, red lights flashed at intervals. They dashed down the hallway to the relative light of the entrance. 

Every juncture echoed strange buzzing, the hum of anti-grav. Fox's glance down a corridor caught the shiny carapace of a floating security bot. Shaped like a swollen barrel, it sported a rotating ring of laser turrets. Bits of packing foam trailed from it like sand, its factory-fresh armor shining in the light of his helmet lamp. 

They raced out into the courtyard and slammed the heavy security door. McCloud fired two plasma bolts into the works of the ID scanner, cutting power to the magnetic locks and sealing the entrance. Backs to the door, the pilots caught their breath as sentries clanged into it. 

"Woo!" Slippy jumped for joy. "That was close!"

Halfway through a smile behind his oxygen mask, the red fox noticed identical security robots hover around the far side of the building. Cursing whatever safety standard required multiple exits, he seized the frog by the arm and dragged him flailing through the courtyard. 

Pock marks of laser fire erupted in the dim, dry grass. Over his shoulder, he saw a sentinel bot giving chase through the trees, the remains of a shipping box still clinging to it. 

Shots rattled from his assault blaster, sizzling against the sentry's shields. Even under sustained fire, its defense screens held. Taking cover behind a scrawny copse of dead trees, he armed a grenade and threw it back down the path. A flash of energy shattered the shipping crate and buckled its defense screens, allowing a few blaster shots to crater its armor. The sentry bobbed once, collided with a trunk, and detonated. All around, thousands of ancient leaves and grass blades pulverized into a haze of brown dust.

Three more bots swept in to take its place. 

"Get outta here, Slip!" Fox growled into his breather mask. "I'll distract them while you haul the memory core back and get the others."

The frog grappled with his duffle. His voice cracked, and not just from the jammed comm. "But—!"

"No buts!" The vulpine watched as scanning beams searched the murky haze. He clicked off his flashlight and head lamp. "Move!"

The little green laser-magnet made a break for the hangar doors, his stumpy footfalls scratching off into the darkness of the entrance. His helmet light bounced off into the corridor. 

With no wind to clear it, the clouds of pulverized plant matter billowed and swirled on the currents of the original explosion. Fox reminded himself he wasn't breathing the same air, then squeezed off a few shots at the nearby trees. The old trunks lit like tinder, casting a surreal glow in the mist. That should confuse any thermal scanners. 

One enterprising sentinel zoomed from the haze and peppered him with laser fire. In the same instant, Fox unleashed a barrage of fire against its shields. The crackling energy seemed to blind the hovering machine, which snapped through a few thin trees and blundered into a freeze-dried hedge. 

"Dang!" Wincing, McCloud scrambled deeper into the mist, checking the ammo gauge on his rifle. He glanced down his body—a pale, rubbery liquid oozed from between the layers of his flight suit to seal the pin holes. Inside, he felt something hot seep into his fur, either sealant or blood. He wouldn't know until he got the suit off. 

Half a dozen contacts showed on his HUD radar. Blaster shots wouldn't do much against those shields and he only had three grenades left. His paw snatched another one from his belt, primed it, and skipped it across the hangar's lawn. In a deafening blast, the grass billowed into a swirl of smoke and dust. Body cold and muscles tight, he skirted the hedge-stuck robot and sprinted into the vaporized sod. 

As he neared the hangar complex, three of the bots zipped up from the trees, their trails of haze lit by the fire below and stars above. As he leapt through the door, a laser caught the heel of his boot. Every second step clung to the floor with a slap of melted rubber. He dashed down the corridors, following dusty signs down a half-remembered series of corridors. The buzz of sentinels closing in prickled his hackles just as he came upon a double-door with pressure seals and a cargo ship logo above: the hangar bay. 

With a yap of victory, he shoved the doors open and squeezed through. Spinning free, he turned to find his friend, his ride home—

And found nothing. 

The hangar bay stood empty. 

McCloud bared his teeth in frustration. He'd found the wrong hangar bay. 

Behind him, the flash of a laser sliced the half-open doors. He dove for cover behind a standing console, then hurled another grenade along the floor. It skidded and bounced and rolled between the airlock seals. A brilliant flash and a rumble of compression through his chest heralded its detonation. Sprawled on the deck, he blinked back the purple afterimage and shot any shiny armor that showed through the doorway. 

Undeterred, the sentry bots cut away the remains of the airlock and swarmed through. They hovered in the air, those lethal little turrets tracking on him. Lasers tore across the floor plates as he rolled back behind the control station. 

Pinned down, he swept his rifle over the top of the console, firing wild, only to pull back a smoking, laser-sliced barrel. He tossed it aside and drew his pistol. A deep breath warmed his oxygen mask for a moment. He needed a plan. He couldn't die here, not with Krystal feeling it.

A metal-on-metal scream erupted from the mouth of the corridor. He dared a look at his radar and found something massive tearing up the hallway. Some ostentatious mega-sentry, if he knew Andross's design sensibilities. He grabbed his final grenade, thumb poised over the primer. He'd have to take it out fast, before the other sentinels could take him apart. His finger pulled the blaster trigger halfway, its whine and glow building with the charge. Throw, shoot, take cover if still alive.

The airlock exploded in a blaze of blue-green fire. 

A massive metal shape roared forth. 

Even with its wings sheared off, he recognized it: the _CloudRunner_. Its guns glowed to life with a high-pitched whine.

A toothy grin gleaming from the cockpit, Krystal's voice crackled over the comm: "Sorry, this fox is taken."

The Arwing unleashed a withering hail of plasma at the hovering security bots. Each shot popped their shields like a colorful soap bubble, then gnashed a smoldering hole through the sentinel itself. Within a few seconds, half the robots crashed to the deck, while the rest scattered up and away. 

"Fox!" She ceased fire, letting one sheared wing of her ship bang to the floor. "Get on my wing!"

Air around him hazy with burnt components, Fox holstered his blaster and dashed from behind the control console. His heavy boots clanged on the metal plating as he sprinted for her craft. A weave carried him through the wreckage. A single bound carried him up the sparking remains of her wing. The change in momentum tried to trip him and he slapped his palms on the the top of her canopy. The vulpines locked eyes for an instant, a tiny sigh of relief passing between them. 

She kept her pitch level and her speed low. Even with the G-diffuser canceling his momentum, he could still slide off from gravity or get blown off by wind. Scraping one ruined wingtip on the deck plates, the _Cloud Runner_ rumbled across the cavernous room.

Fox's ears shot up. "We're not going back the way you came?"

"Are you joking?" She spared a glance his way. "I only got through because I turned my shields off." 

The remaining sentry bots regrouped above them. Lasers sizzled on the nose of her fighter, then ceased with a hiss as she flicked her shields back on. 

"I'm making a new door." Hovering the ship higher, the vixen pelted a section of the wall with her main guns. Flaming electronics rained down as molten metal streaked down the bulkhead. "Keep them off my tail, Fox."

On one knee, McCloud yanked open the storage hatch just under the canopy seal and hauled out a personal plasma cannon. Tucking it to his shoulder, he clicked off the safety and pulsed green fire at the floating robots. As they fell in flames, he glimpsed the last layer of bulkhead melt away, revealing another hangar beyond. One docking bay over—that had been the difference between life and death. "How'd you find me?"

She tapped a finger on her temple, then smirked. "Hold on—this may get bumpy." 

His paw seized the canopy as the Arwing rumbled forward, which brought his gaze to hers again. They sped through the jagged hole, wings slicing wires. A ruptured air vent blustered his tail flush with his legs. On the other side, two more Arwings hovered, pitched up to face them. The instant they cleared the gap, blue and green plasma hailed back through it, carving up sentries leaving the air a tangle of heat ripples.

He rode her wing until it tiled over his own open cockpit. He jumped in, landing on his tail, but punching the canopy and shield controls. A simmer of energy bubbled around his ship, then around Krystal's above him. His paws fell into the natural routine of retracting the landing skids while pumping just enough thrust to float. He spun the Arwing around and headed out the bay doors. "I'm in! Let's rock and roll!" He kicked the engines. The air screen jostled his Arwing as he crossed it, but with a firm paw on the joystick, he shot into space.

"Oh my!" At his six, the vixen crackled over the comm. Her image glanced back and forth, no doubt examining the damage. "That was rather nasty!"

He dodged an enthusiastic exit by Slippy and smiled at her through the display. "Thanks for the save."

She shrugged; her smile warmed his adrenaline-chilled blood. "Of course."

Flipping his ship and gunning the thrusters, then flipping back to cover their exit, the avian still found time to coo in mockery: "Awww, ain't you two sweet."

The red fox lashed his sore tail. "You know, Falco, you could've come in to help me too."

As they put distance between them and Astropolis, the bird shrugged. "Yeah, but Krystal was the one eager to wreck her ship flyin' it down a hallway."

She shook her head, jewelry clattering against the inside of her helmet. "I just hope our mechanic will forgive what I did to the _Cloud Runner_."

Falco crowed. "Don't worry about the wingtips—Slippy buys 'em by the dozen."

Panting, Fox said nothing. He lay back against the headrest and watched as Krystal locked speed beside him. Their eyes met. He smiled behind his oxygen mask.

~ ~ ~

In the confines of the shower, Krystal worked to scrub the suit sealant from her lover's fur. "Do try to hold still, Fox."

The shower hissed, curls of faint steam lifting from their nude bodies. Aside from not having to feel every stray emotion on the ship, she'd also picked these VIP quarters because of the private, well-appointed shower. The fact it was big enough for two hadn't escaped her noticed either. 

McCloud braced against a wall, winced as his tail bent against it, and adjusted the ice pack he held to its base. "Stupid ground combat. I'll take the sky any day."

"This happens because you're reckless." Her gentle paws worked in a bit more soap, then combed the gummy substance loose with blunt claws. "I'm glad you're alright."

His foot propped on her knee, he tried not to look at her bare fur. In bed, he couldn't be accused of modesty, but more casual nudity still made him blush. "Thanks again." 

"Thank me by protecting your life like you protect mine." She pulled the last leg of the flight suit free, letting it fall to a wet pile on the textured steel floor. "You could've gotten off far worse." 

At last, he found a position that didn't hurt his tail. Relief seeped through him. "You sure about that?"

"If I were male, you'd have a sore tail and goo in your pelt every night." She turned her muzzle to deliver a small kiss to the opening of his sheath. 

With a pleasured breath, he glanced down at her, ears drooped and dripping. "How do you know I'd be up for that?"

She rested her chin along side his sheath and balls, then tapped her temple. "You'd have come around."

~ ~ ~

In the mess hall, Fox sat, his boots on a table, and watched the forward window. He'd always found comfort in the clean eternity of space. Sunshine crested Corneria's horizon, before a curtain of uncounted stars, burning unhindered by atmosphere. In these moments, he knew why outer space called to him, why it had ever since he first looked up at the boundless night sky with his father, listening to tales of adventure and wonder. Greed, hate, or blind instinct would someday threaten Lylat with ruin again, sooner or later. He and those dear to him would be catapulted into the fray, the weapons civilization brought to bear against uncivil times. They might even die, they might even fail, but still the stars would burn on, belonging to everyone and no one.

A loud slurp broke his contemplation. 

Slippy stood behind the counter, examining freeze-dried rations with the careful eye of a connoisseur. After smacking his wide lips for a bit, he dipped his tongue in another bag of pulverized cheese snacks. The "atomic blue" cheese poofs zipped into his mouth, joining the remains of "zesty orange" ones already there. Then he mixed the two, shook them, and sampled again, which elicited a contemplative croak. Oblivious to the vulpine's gaze, he set the bastardized bag on the countertop and waddled to the pantry in search of other treasures.

McCloud said nothing, not even when Falco walked in, grabbed the bag off the counter, and tossed some of the puffs into his beak. They'd delivered the scuffed and singed data core to the authorities to tepid bureaucratic fanfare. Bill had arrested the mole himself, some magpie feathering her nest. The _Great Fox_ had been in orbit the week since, first as material witnesses, later in case the suspect tried to escape. Fox sighed. Nothing to do now but wait.

Falco landed on the seat in front of him. "What's shakin'?" He tossed another neon cheese puff up, then snapped it up in midair.

The vulpine shrugged. "Talked to Peppy this morning. They're sending a salvage team to Astropolis."

The bird scoffed around a beakful of extruded snack matter. "Hope they're well armed. We're not gettin' the contract?"

"No, but we still have salvage rights in Sector Y." 

"Oh, I'm real hot on goin' back there." He dumped the last of the multicolored crumbs onto his tongue. "I got standards, ya know?"

Behind him, the door hissed open. A blue vixen in white strode into the mess hall, and raised Fox's ears. No jewelry, no hair beads, just a simple white dress, some tail wraps, and a smile.

The bird's eyes did a mocking roll. "Jeez, like ya don't see her every day…" 

"Not in that dress." Fox watched as the fabric flowed around her body like a swathe of cloud. 

The bag depleted, he preened cheese dust from his hands. "Yer such a dork."

Krystal swayed up to them. Gold accents gleamed on her sandals and belt. Looking more a goddess than usual, she ruled his heart with a smile. 

Heat rushing his cheek ruffs, McCloud stammered. "You…you look good."

Falco swept one wing toward the red fox. "Smooth flyin', ace." 

She gave a coy shrug and sat beside her lover. "Sometimes a girl wants to dress up."

In the middle of trying to deploy a better compliment, his comm gauntlet blinked. He found the message short, sweet, and suffused with surfer lingo. With a grin, Fox glanced up. "That was Bill: full confession. They’re cutting us loose."

The bird lifted his eyebrows. "So the pirates’ buddies can come after us?"

"Sounds like they only had one ship." The red fox swung his legs down from the table and stretched, tilting his muzzle back. "After what we did to the Venom fleet, they hoped to take us out so Corneria couldn’t hire us to hunt them down."

Krystal crossed her arms. "Quite practical for vengeance."

"A stealth battlecruiser coulda run circles around their patrols." The avian nodded, then his crest rose. "They payin’ us for doin' their dirty work?"

"Not everything’s about money, Falco." The red fox closed his eyes and tried to sound wise. Adorable. "Sometimes an opportunity presents itself and you have to go for it."

"Like the time I tricked you guys into goin' in a gay bar." He crowed in retrospective triumph. "I can still hear Slippy: 'Fox, get this guy off me!'"

The frog popped up in the kitchen, wearing a burnt chef's hat and a frown. "Hey! I don't sound like that."

McCloud cast him a sly look. "Funny how you knew it was a gay bar, Falco."

"What's it to ya?" He poked a primary feather at the vulpine's chest. "Keep that up and we're gonna scrap."

With a smirk, Fox locked on his target. "Hey, throttle down: you remember our little deal."

Wings crossed, his eyes narrowed. "Whadda ya mean?"

The leader took his shot. "From the Academy: you keep your temper in check, we don't tell everyone you're part pheasant."

A ruffle puffed his plumage. "I'm not!"

McCloud shrugged. "I never said it’d be true."

Krystal's chuckle rang quiet but conspicuous, like silverware on a champagne glass.

"I don't have to sit here and take this." The tall bird stood and jerked a nod from frog to door. "C'mon, Slippy; let's buy some new game cartridges for ROB before we leave and I'm forced to kick him out an airlock."

The mechanic trotted from behind the counter after him. "We should really buy a new 72-pin connector too. He keeps resetting…"

As the pair passed out the door, Fox met his love's eyes. As his gaze traveled down her body, his thoughts turned to what lie under it, thoughts he stifled once he remembered she could read his emotions.

The moment he looked up, she sighed and patted his paw. "Fox, you don't have to do that." 

"Do what?" His tail swished with vulpine innocence. 

"Keep yourself from ogling me." She flashed a sidelong grin. "We are dating, after all."

"Copy that." In the quiet of the empty mess hall, he cast her body a hungry look. "So…why the dress?"

The vixen adjusted a white cloth tail band, just happening to lean closer to him "Maybe I want to be looked at."

"You've got that."

With a coy look, she leaned in until their noses touched. "Maybe I want you to help me out of it."

His ears dipped, hot. "I—um—think that could be arranged." He set an anxious paw on her thigh, feeling the soft fabric slip over softer fur. 

A heartbeat later, they scampered out into the corridor. Eager paws grabbed at each other's tails. She pulled him close and pressed him to the bulkhead with a kiss. Her lips met his, her smooth tongue slipping deep into his muzzle and fluffing the whole length of his tail. When she pulled back and giggled at his expression, he growled with desire and squeezed her ample rump. The chase began anew, leading him down to her quarters.

Before she even hit the door button, he had his paws up her dress touching her legs. As they crossed the threshold, he grabbed her hips and hauled them to his, adoring the feel of her against his plump sheath. Deeming it time for a little payback, he humped her against a bulkhead while she moaned in breathy desire. One toned leg lifted to his flank as he kissed her neck. His paw slipped between her thighs—his fingertips met only hot, wet flesh. 

"No panties?" He teased through her slick folds as his tail swished.

Salacious mischief danced in her eyes. "Not for this mission."

Together they maneuvered her out of the dress, which fell as a white pool across the shade-striped floor. Her nude body prowled toward him; those skillful blue paws groped his crotch, unzipped his flight suit, then slipped inside to grope some more. Blunt-clawed fingertips danced behind his scrotum. Cupping his balls, she drew him to bed. The couple tumbled to the mattress, her sandals falling to the carpet. His boots took a bit more work, followed by his jumpsuit and boxers. With a growl of her own, she kissed him again, paw seizing the back of his undershirt. 

Drunk on her scent, he pulled the shirt off. Lost in kisses, their caress lead one to another. He stroked her tail, nuzzled her ears, and slipped down to lick her nipples. The vixen's pleasured moan sent a thrill up his spine and a pulse of arousal to his crotch. 

With a knowing smile, she moved to take advantage of the pink showing against his white pelt. Her supple fingers skinned his sheath up and down, then back to rub the bare length of his cock. Smooth paw pads traced his growing erection. His knot throbbed and swelled against her palm.

"Mmmmm…" She rolled to her hands and knees, her eyes glittering with desire. "I think you’d better cover my six, Fox."

The red fox caressed his way down her back, then climbed behind her. His knees sank into the mattress between her own. The tip of his cock dribbled slick longing at her thin-furred lips. A whimper of bliss escaped his muzzle as her hips jostled back onto his length. With a delighted yap, he sank in. 

"Ooooooooohhh…" Those supple ears flicked back in delight. 

Clumsy and craving, he worked in and out until he fell into a rhythm. 

Her eyes closed with a velvet moan. "Just a bit faster now, Fox. Keep going!"

He tucked his chin to her shoulder and tried to thrust upward so as not to crush her tail. Pelts so different in tone, their bodies blended in matched desire. As fast as he dared without slipping out, he rammed inside her. "Ummm! Uh!"

"Oh, that's lovely—just like that!" Her head rocked back and forth, her hair a blue mess against the pillow. "Tie me, Fox!" 

Every thrust spread her juices higher up his knot. Every push brought him closer to tying the love of his life. Every ragged breath dragged him closer to orgasm inside her. A thought took root and blossomed: they had each other. No matter what the Universe threw at them, no matter how they grew through time, she had his back and she wanted his knot. With a growl, Fox seized her hips, slamming himself home. 

"Unh!" She bit her lip, hips banging back to accept him. Her lips closed around the back of his knot and swathed him with incredible warmth. Her toned body shook to accommodate each swell of his buried pleasure. 

Spurting into his lovely vixen, McCloud lost himself in the sweet surrender of pleasure. His muzzle along hers, his every breath swore devotion. His balls twitched and pumped another surge of passion into her welcoming body. Knot deep, love deeper, he swam in her scent and pleasured gasps. 

Fox moaned as he felt her fingers dance at the back of his knot, wiggling her clit back and forth. In his arms, as his body still shivered with aftershocks, hers shuddered against him. That delicate white muzzle traced back along his, as if wanting to feel as much of him as possible. Her passage wrung down on him, those sculpted shoulders rolled back against his chest. Passion grasped her idle paws upon the sheets. As her orgasm ebbed, it faded from a tremble of muscles to a flutter of eyelashes to a twitch of her tail.

Moments pulsed by. Her hips pressed to his, that swell of canine flesh pulling them close. The slick proof of their lovemaking saturated the base of her tail, his thighs. Those tender, quivering walls squeezed him with all her love. 

Unable resist the gravity of a comfortable bed, they rolled to their sides, knot tugged inside her with every motion. At the pillow's edge, her fingers interlaced with his. Her leg rose. With a feather touch at that white band of tattooed pattern, he lifted her ankle. The pressure on his cock lessened further, the bulge sliding further and further free…

A noise —wet, obscene, and wondrous— echoed through her quarters.

His fading knot slipped out, the cool air traced with a rivulet of his own hot semen. It dribbled around his furry sheath to her silken sheets. She snuggled back into his chest fluff, her scent tangled in impending dreams. As he lay, breathless and blissful, he knew for all the vastness of space, nowhere called to him more than here holding her paw.

~ ~ ~

With Cape Claw's tawny sand trailing before their paws, Krystal walked paw-in-paw with her lover. Overhead, the last shipping container sailed in on a new hover crane and with a distant titter.

"Isn't it lovely to visit Sauria again…" Her aqua gaze flowed to his. "…just us two?"

For the thousandth time, Fox adjusted his tiny, clingy swimsuit. "Isn't this swimsuit a little…minimal?"

She leaned back to enjoy how it showed off his tail. "Dinosaurs aren't big on modesty, love."

Excitement rushed from the trees beside them. Thundering steps echoed as something huge plowed through the jungle. With a burst of shredded foliage, a frilled pink dinosaur crashed free of the brush. Leaves clung to his jewelry, a massive smile rushed to his face as he bounded toward them. "Hi guys!" 

Krystal's tail swished in amusement. "Hello, Tricky."

"Hey, pal." Fox winced, probably relieved he wasn't trampled by EarthWalker enthusiasm. "You make quite an entrance."

"You're here for your honeymoon, right? You can tell me." The ceratopsid winked. 

She patted his nose horn. "Not exactly."

"Oh, okay. No rush. Now that I'm in charge, I can totally marry you two whenever you want." The EarthWalker gave an even more obvious wink.

"We'll…keep that in mind." Fox's shy tail curled around his waist. "How're the plush bafomdads?"

"Great!" He hopped, his massive feet stomping into the sand. "I'm distributing 'em to the other tribes now."

"We were happy to trade." One graceful paw propped on her hip as the other swept at the dinosaur. "Though I was rather surprised you wanted _all_ of them."

"Oh yeah! We've been going through 'em pretty fast." Tricky turned to daintily spit out a black plastic voice box. It hit a tree trunk and fell with a giggle. "The pits make really interesting noises too."

~ ~ ~

Well, that's five chapters, folks. :veryhappy: Let me know how you feel about the series in the comments.

Art: Yuki-chi (Used with permission.)  
Commission: Flack  
Edits: Slate, Sillyneko345, Thefunkyone  
Proofs: Koush, Anakuro, Starfox94

~Tempo


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fox McCloud struggles with the lack of an interplanetary crisis and possibly having a life for once. Krystal is the only other sane person on the team. Everybody learns the benefits of comprehensive insurance.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 6  
by Tempo

_Fox McCloud struggles with the lack of an interplanetary crisis and possibly having a life for once. Krystal is the only other sane person on the team. Everybody learns the benefits of comprehensive insurance._

~ ~ ~

In an Arwing, Fox McCloud felt, if not more relaxed, then at least freer.

The fine-tuned controls obeyed his every command, moving the craft through almost any maneuver he could imagine. For the moment, he flew in escort formation with the Great Fox II. Not because of any particular danger, but because he wanted to think. His life wasn't a total mess, but a few worries still weighed him down. Kilo for kilo, Arwings were the most expensive ships in the Lylat System and he had four of them. Even minor damage required major funds for custom-machined parts. And the hand-me-down carrier he'd bought from the Cornerian military seemed like less of a bargain every day, with an ill-tempered reactor core and every airlock seal and CO2 scrubber well beyond its rated service life. As he flew over the ship, he noticed the silver patches of foam steel, plugging holes in the battered hull. 

Life wasn't all bad. His wing mates were reliable, if quirky. His girlfriend was smart and sweet and helped to keep him sane. But for a while now, he'd been meaning to talk to someone outside the team. Seeing the same people every day made a fox go a little stir-crazy. 

He flicked through the names in his wrist communicator until he came to an old friend. After setting the auto-pilot to not crash into his carrier, he pressed the call button.

The communicator rang for almost a minute before someone picked up. A triceratops face loomed onto the screen. "Hi Fox!"

A smile materialized on the vulpine's lips. "How's it going, Tricky?"

"Great!" A bounce of excitement shook the camera. Behind him, the throne room of the Walled City gleamed in all its lavish colors and massive glory. "I was just talking to the hatchlings for Everyone Loves Tricky Day. I didn't come up with the name, but I did approve it." He winked conspicuously. "A king has to be a little modest, after all."

The grey metal interior of Fox's Arwing suddenly felt a little drab. "So ruling Sauria is working out?"

"Yeah! You should come by and see the place." Tricky stomped his feet, which dislodged a little dust from the ceiling. "It's a really pretty summer this year. Maybe we could find more of those mushrooms that change the color of my scales. Those were neat! My doctor says I can't have more of those fire-breathing ones for a while, but still! We could start a whole new fashion. It's hot out, so nobody's wearing clothes anyway."

"Sometime." Fox flexed his toes inside his boots. It would be nice to walk on the beach again. And see Krystal in a swimsuit. "We have some cargo to run."

"You run a lot of cargo." Tricky relished saying the exotic verb and noun, then finished the sentence with a wink of pride.

He shrugged within the confines of the cockpit. "We need to make money."

"Right, money. Money always sounded frustrating." He nodded with an earnest attempt at empathy.

Fox reminded himself, not for the first time, to not to bother discussing his finances with dinosaurs. "And I guess I'm just a little paranoid. My enemies have a habit of coming back from the dead."

The triceratops nodded. "Do they always come back as giant floating heads?"

"That's mostly just Andross." McCloud rubbed his nose, which had gone a little cold in the chill of space. "He did do it twice, though, so I see how you could get that impression."

"Well, just let me know if he comes back again and I'll come fight him for you!" He tossed a confident smile to the communicator, honorary Star Fox medal glinting around his neck. "No floating head can stand up to an army of EarthWalkers, no matter how giant!"

The pilot gave a soft chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You should stay here a while, Fox." A crackle of sadness tinged the dinosaur's voice. "Then maybe I could get everyone to understand I didn't save the planet and defeat General Scales by myself."

"Whatever happened to Scales? Last I saw him, he just passed out from a Krazoa spirit leaving his body." He gestured with his free paw. "Is he still alive?"

Halfway through a reassuring smile, Tricky froze and thought for a moment. His crest shifted to almost white as his mouth dropped open. "Gotta go! Official royal business." He beat a rapid retreat out of the room, thundering out into the court hall. 

After a few minutes, Fox decided his friend wasn't coming back to turn off the communicator. He ended the call from his side, then sat in silence. The faint rumble of engines and hum of the reactor under his seat provided the only noise against the eternal silence outside. He shifted, the fabric of his spacesuit creaking, and drummed a claw on the control panel, just to make a little noise. Here he sat, piloting the most advanced starfighter ever produced, vaguely jealous of a triceratops.

~ ~ ~

With gentle taps on the controls, the vulpine settled his Arwing into its moorings. The fighter had an auto-dock feature, but he liked doing it manually when he had more than the three seconds the auto-dock took—just to keep in practice for when he had less than three seconds. Heavy latches closed around the nose of the craft.

Just above, a blue vixen in a gold jumpsuit leaned on the handrail to watch him. Her tail swished playfully, jingling matched jewelry. "Hello, Fox."

He popped the canopy. "You have a way of showing up before I even know I want to see you."

She tilted her head for a smile, golden beads in her hair glittering. "It helps that you like seeing me."

He climbed out of the cockpit. "So it has nothing to do with you sensing my emotions?"

A slim blue paw curled around his, helping to hoist him up onto the catwalk. Once their eyes were level, she touched her nose to his space-chilled one. "That only helps with timing." Her body drifted against his as those paws rested on his flight suit belt. 

As the hangar bay door hissed closed behind him, he indulged in a sweet moment. The subtle scent of her perfume teased him closer, so novel after the recycled air of a cockpit. Pulling off a glove, he reached to cup her warm, soft cheek ruff. 

She leaned into the gesture, silky fur tracing over his paw pads. Her teal eyes dared him to kiss her. Their muzzles drew closer, closer… 

At the far end of the walkway, a door screeched slowly open to reveal Falco holding an empty mylar snack bag. "Okay, we are officially outta potato chips." He shook it upside down, allowing crumbs to fall out and quiver in midair beside the catwalk, caught in the anti-grav field. Strains of cock rock rattled from the headphones around his neck, each edgy strain of rooster vocal echoing through the hangar bay. 

Krystal rolled her eyes, then offered a shrug of apology. She'd mentioned more than once how strong emotions, especially when coupled with physical contact, jam her empathic radar. Even if that let people walk in now and then, her feelings being that strong was at least flattering.

Thumbing the hem of his flight jacket, Fox switched off the built-in heater. "It's your turn to buy."

"As if!" He tapped a primary feather on his chest. "I'm the best pilot the Lylat System. The team budget oughta cover snacks."

The todd let his wingman's ego fly right by. "Go eat some cereal. We have plenty."

"We're down ta the most boring and healthy breakfast cereals. Slippy ate all the marshmallows outta my Astro Blasters." He jerked a feather toward his open beak with a gag noise. "We're down to Corneri-O's and some bran…things. And we're outta soda too."

"Falco, what're you talking about? We have a ton of soda." He lashed his tail, working out the kinks. Even the most comfortable seat got old after a few hours. "It's down in the galley."

"Yeah right! I'm not drinkin' anything called 'Fox Fuel.'" He made air quotes with his feathers. "Besides, yer face is on every bottle. I don't wanna look up at you while I'm suckin' on one." He turned to Krystal. "No offense."

"None taken." She gave a sweet smile and a spicy look. "More for me."

The bird's pink tongue hung out the side of his beak with a forced gag.

McCloud buried his face in a paw. The soft drink sponsorship had fallen through, but a sympathetic employee had smuggled them the entire test batch. "It's just green apple."

"Better idea." He pointed primary feathers at the team leader. "Let's put it on the black market."

"I don't think there's a black market for soda." Fox caught himself locking onto his wingman with his targeting visor and quietly switched it off.

"We could park on a beach somewhere and pretend the ship's a soda fountain." Krystal flashed a wry smile, pearly whites gleaming against a sea of blue fur. "Falco can be the soda jerk."

"Har har." He clacked his beak mockingly. "Tell me what I'm feelin' right now, psychic."

The blue fox leaned back against the railing, watching the crumbs spread along the anti-grav shear plane. Her tail swept graceful arcs, its jewelry jingling. "We arrive at Zoness tomorrow. You can shop there."

"Ugh!" Wings flung to the sides, his head tilted back in a caw of persecution. "You know they never have anythin' good. Can't we just have it shipped to us while we're in transit?"

"When we start pulling in serious money again, maybe that can happen." McCloud smoothed his scruff, which had been ruffled by the collar of his flight jacket. 

The bird tossed the empty chip bag aside and crossed his wings. "Then we need better gigs."

The leader nodded. "Affirmative, Star Fox Two."

The tall avian swept a wing toward the far side of the bay. "Corneria should just give us money every month so we can ensure nothing bad happens."

The leader sighed. "Falco, if they did that, we'd either have joined their military or become some sort of mafia."

He hooked his thumbs into his pockets. "I call dibs on the name 'Don Falconi'."

McCloud cocked an ear at the bird. "Star Fox is not a crime family. Stop suggesting that."

"Shoulda thought of that before ya crossed Don Falconi, bub." He made machine gun gestures at the red fox. 

The vulpine rolled his eyes. "You have a point, though: maybe we should sign on with the military. Bill would be an understanding CO, and with Peppy in charge of the fleet, we could negotiate some good terms." He pondered the idea for a moment. "We'd probably have to wear their uniforms." 

The vixen sighed. "Those seem so baggy. Perhaps I could get mine fitted."

Fox's thoughts veered off course. An image of Krystal in a well-fitted dress uniform marched into his mind to give a sassy salute. He felt his sheath start to raise the colors in response.

The corners of his beak stretched up in a smirk. "Personally, I'd prefer they wear our uniforms." Blue wingtips rose in a little flourish before his chest. "But we can negotiate."

The vixen's paw came in for a soft landing on her lover's shoulder. She tossed him a wink. "I think what Fox means is we'd have to play by their rules." 

McCloud crossed his arms. "Are you ready for that, Falco?"

The bird turned and kicked the crumpled chip bag off the edge of the walkway. "I'm gonna go check the snack inventory again." He walked out the door and back into the corridor. His shadow stretched behind him, not slowing, but turning to grumble: "Dunno how we're supposed to save the day without money or snacks…" The music of his headphones faded away with him. 

Fox closed his eyes with a long exhale. Once he was sure the avian was out of earshot, he groaned. "Sometimes, I just wish Falco would grow up. Did you hear that stuff about the soda?"

"Yes, and I agree with him." She nuzzled directly into his ear, her breathy whisper teasing delicate fur there. "If anyone's going to gulp down your sweet nectar, it's going to be me."

He straightened in an instant, ears popping up and face flushing with heat. 

Chuckling, Krystal leaned back against the handrail with a playful lash of her tail. "So a lady in uniform is what does it for you?"

The flustered fox straightened his flight suit and tried to regain his composure. "Hm?"

"Nothing, nothing." An amused and especially vulpine smile de-cloaked on her muzzle. "That's just the most arousal I've felt from you in a couple weeks."

Eyes flicking to her, he grimaced with chagrin. "Aw jeez, I'm sorry. It's just been one thing after another and—"

"Fox, love." She turned him by the shoulder to face her. Her smile radiated comfort and understanding. "If you aren't having sex because you're worried, and you start worrying about not having sex..." She shrugged, leaving him to finish the train of thought on his own. "Just know that I enjoyed feeling my boyfriend's attraction to me. It's alright. No pressure."

"No, no, it's not alright." His eyes closed in frustration. "I saved the Lylat System and now I'm broke. I have a personal squad of fighter craft I can't afford to maintain, but don't dare sell, even if I could find a buyer. I don't know how many times I have to save General Pepper's life before he stops calling me 'junior'—and he's the only flag officer who could find his exhaust port with both hands and targeting computer. The rest are too scared of admitting they rely on mercs to keep everyone safe that they won't pay the mercs enough to get by—which would be a catastrophic policy if we weren't so scrupulous. Also, I'm not sure, but I think my dad might be alive as a space whale. And I've been putting all my energy into keeping this carrier limping along for another cargo run." A snarl escaped his lips before he could bite it back into a whine of frustration. His gaze met hers, insecurity welling up in his stomach. "And, at the end of the day, I can't even relax enough to get with my incredibly attractive girlfriend."

The hallway door scraped open to admit a squat and happy frog waving a tablet of schematics. "Hey Fox! I think I finally figured out how to fit a smart bomb launcher on the— Oh." He glanced at the foxes in turn. "Mammal stuff, huh? I'll come back later. It can wait." The amphibian spun an about-face, lashed his tongue out into the floating cloud of snack crumbs, and stumped right back into the hallway. The door closed behind him.

Krystal's eyes followed him down the hall, through the bulkheads, no doubt tracking him by his emotions. "Your performance in bed is nothing to be ashamed of." A naughty glimmer sparked in her eye, visible even before she glanced back to him. "I'll have you know I rather enjoy your performances. I seem to remember calling for an encore last time." 

Disconcerted and flustered, Fox turned to her with a flush in his ears. 

She took him by the paw. Her ears rose and angled to him. "What was this about a space whale?"

The todd groaned. "Just something I saw—thought I saw in Sector Y." He pressed paw pads to his eyelids. "I wouldn't put too much stock in it. I also swore I saw a giant slot machine in the Bolse prototype wreckage one time."

She gave a slow nod of concern, then patted gently him on the back. "Alright, darling, I think you could do with some sleep."

A heavy sigh left him. "You're probably right." Before any other quirky crew mates could ambush him with their problems, he let her lead him back to their quarters.

~ ~ ~

Fox dreamed.

The Great Fox II smoldered before him, but that wasn't the problem. 

What mattered were the ruins around it: restaurants, hotels, homes. The sky choked with soot, the air crackling with residual energy, he stood in the wreckage. Corneria's skyscrapers stood pockmarked by explosions and scarred by laser fire, when they stood at all. A fleet sailed overhead, raining down further destruction. 

As most talented pilots in the Lylat System, Star Fox was honor-bound to defend it. And as its leader, McCloud was obligated to keep the team running. If alien incursions and merciless armies couldn't stop them, something as mundane as lack of cash shouldn't either. The first Great Fox had been built to last—and his father had intended it as a lasting force for good. Even before Fox had sacrificed that inheritance to thwart an invasion, he'd already been scrambling to make payments, let alone keep it at peak performance. Could he really ask his friends to keep risking their lives when exposed to that kind of needless risk?

Part of him knew it wasn't real, banged on the edges of the dream. But that rational part of him had little power in the world of irrational worry. Part of him was ignored.

Pressure tightened his chest. His mind entered a spiral of guilt he couldn't pull out of. If only he'd been just a little faster, a little better at shooting down the Aparoids, maybe he'd still have the Great Fox. This brought to mind all the other times he could've saved the day for just a few more citizens of Lylat, if only he'd picked the right jump point or hadn't hesitated for a surer shot. Even in the dream, he knew it wasn't fair, wasn't rational, but now, standing in the twisted and smoldering ruins of the capitol, it didn't seem to matter.

He wasn't the flawless statue they'd erected to him on the Academy lawn. He wasn't the perfect dogfighter attentive pups studied in Space Combat 101. He was flying by the seat of his pants out here, where resources got stretched and death seared past his canopy with every aileron roll. He'd slapped the name Great Fox II on the battered old assault carrier. It'd kept team morale and public faith up, but he knew better. The original had been built to last centuries, the replacement a disposable asset that happened to survive enough deployments to be sold as surplus. 

Now, cities burned. Planets fell. And all because he couldn't do his job.

~ ~ ~

Fox woke.

The Great Fox II thrummed around him, but that wasn't the problem. 

What mattered were the thousand or so things wrong with it. Any one of those could prove the difference between victory and defeat, life and death. If rag-tag pirates could punch a hole in it, what good would it be in a real fight? 

Loving paws slipped around him. A slender muzzle brushed the back of his ear. "Bad dream?"

A deep inhale bought him to search for a summary that wouldn't worry her. Both the breath and the explanation escaped him. He worked the tension from his jaw. "It's just stress."

"This is the third time this week your dream's woken me. Neither of us are going to get much sleep until you can stop worrying so much." Her fingers traced through his bare chest fur. "Anything you'd like to talk about?"

He groaned. This is what he got for dating an empath. "The same things as always: missions, money, my place in the galaxy."

She smiled against his ear. "Makes a vulpine long for the days when we were saving the system every year or so."

A long moment passed. Out the window, he watched a slowly-scrolling starscape. "Must be tough, feeling everyone's emotions all the time." He didn't say, but he felt guilty about disturbing her sleep. It occurred to him she could feel the guilt too, which made hiding it a little silly.

"It can be invigorating, if I'm somewhere upbeat. The ambient attitude seeps in." She kissed his neck. "And you've been giving me a new appreciation for it."

He nodded and stroked her paws. His body snuggled back against hers, enjoying her warmth against the ever-present chill of space. Outer space might have an unlimited appetite for body heat, but they could always keep each other warm.

"Look, it's morning anyway." She glanced to the ambient light projector she called a clock. It was currently blue-awash-with-amber o'clock. "We should get up and get some breakfast. I stashed a few fresh melons in the unused crew quarters we don't pipe heat to. Let's have those with breakfast and see where the day takes us from there."

With a deep breath and a creaky stretch, he consented to her plan. His body still felt tight and his mind still swirled with worry, but she was right. Besides, they were due at Zoness in a few hours. Clothes would be required for any business transactions there. It wasn't Sauria, after all.

~ ~ ~

An hour later, Fox sat in his office. Being in uniform made him feel disciplined, reminded him to sit up straight. Not wanting to feel too disciplined, he kicked his boots up on the desk. Breakfast had helped a little, even if it left his whiskers sticky and smelling like fruit.

Meanwhile, Krystal had slipped into a silver silk sarong and bikini top. She draped herself over his battered sofa, a vision of beauty against the utilitarian bulkheads and exposed wiring. 

Footsteps down the hall drew the vulpine's attention. Falco had demanded more secure quarters after the repeated destruction of his porn collection, and had only been satisfied by getting the old captain's quarters, which had previously only been used for meetings. This had the unexpected result of Falco showing up to meetings. After stepping through the stuck-open office door, the avian himself dumped a gulp of coffee into his beak while glancing at the foxes.

The blue fox crossed her arms. "Well, look who's the early birdie."

He made a face more bitter than the coffee merited. "Ya wanna know what I think?" With a wide yawn, he scratched his tail feathers. 

Setting down his mug of cheap coffee, the todd propped a tablet on his knee. "Falco, what could I possibly want first thing in the morning besides knowing what you think?" 

"Lemme put it to ya like this." Setting his mug on some papers, he popped the collar of his flight jacket, then snapped his feathers toward Fox. "I got another business proposal for ya."

Bracers gleaming, the vixen scratched her chin with an amused look. "It's bound to be a good one, statistically speaking."

The avian ace paused to speak directly to her cleavage. "You forget to put a shirt on again?"

"No, I thought I'd leave my breasts on display for a bird with a mammal kink." She stretched with a yawn. "Just for a change of pace."

Fox interrupted before they could continue sparring. "If this is a real proposal, let me call Slip." He clicked a button on his gauntlet. 

The next second, a holographic feed of the frog popped into existence. He waved. "What's up, guys?"

"Okay, so we form...a band." He paused for adulation, wings spread to each side. When it wasn't forthcoming, he barreled on. "Falco and the Star Foxes. I mean, we've already got the name recognition."

McCloud raised a digit. "We don't play any instruments."

"So we fake it. Big deal." He played a little air guitar. "I'd play electric guitar and lead vocals." 

The red fox nodded, then stared back into his coffee cup and swirled the dark liquid around. "Of course."

"Fox, you'd play bass. We'll bring Peppy outta retirement to cover drums, put those twitchy rabbit instincts to work for us." He glanced back to the female fox. "Krystal, we'll find ya a tambourine or somethin'."

"I'll be sure to dance quietly, off to one side…" The vixen examined her claws. "…so as not to divert any attention from you."

"I think it's a neat idea!" A grin widened on Slippy's image. "What about me, Falco?"

"You're our roadie." The bird shrugged. "You handle the gear."

The amphibian gave a little hop. "Woohoo! Acoustics are actually a really interesting field. Designing a speaker setup for species both with and without external ears poses several technical challenges, such as eq—"

The avian ace reached over and clicked off the comm button on his leader's gauntlet. Relative silence fell upon the cabin. He gave a winning smirk.

Pulling back his paw, Fox suppressed a growl. After not sleeping well, he was in no mood for the pheasant's games. "Falco, do you have any actual ideas? Or are you just molting or something?"

"Ugh. Ya always were a wet blanket, Foxy." He leaned against a bulkhead, knocking loose a panel, which clattered to the deck. "Jeez laweez. We should see if we can get our money back; this thing'll never hold together." He kicked the fallen panel under his commander's desk. "Why don't we just, I dunno..." He swept his primary feathers wide for emphasis. "...buy another Great Fox?"

Fox didn't look up from his tablet. "It was very expensive."

"Yeah, and so are we." He crossed his wings and leaned back against a bulkhead. "We're the best mercs in the system."

With a quiet groan, McCloud glanced to his wingman. "Yes, but our operating costs are crazy. Those replacement wing tips alone—"

"Yeah yeah." He scoffed with a caw. "What I'm hearin' is we need to charge more."

The vulpine's paw swept toward his old friend, reaching for common understanding. "If we charge more than customers can pay, they'll just hire the second most expensive mercs in the system." 

Krystal raised her ears at the discussion. "That's probably Katt. She has expensive tastes..." She cast him a sidelong look. "...if charitable ones when it comes to men."

Falco struggled to keep his beak shut until he could reclaim his cool after the burn. His shrug swooped in, carefully casual. "The girl likes to dress nice." He tilted his head to the side, eyes closed as he smiled. Then he jerked a thumb at Krystal's less-than-regulation outfit. "Not all of us can get away with wearin' napkins."

A shrug rolled her supple, bare shoulders. "I'm actually considered rather modest back on Cerinia."

His crest rose as the thought sunk in, eyes wide. He turned back to his boss. "Fox, I changed my mind. We needa retire on Cerinia—pronto."

With a serene nod, she brushed a lock of hair from her face. "You do realize you'd be broadcasting your sexual urges to everyone around you?"

Rubbing his bleary eyes, the leader yawned. "I don't see how that's any different from what happens now."

"I got nothin' to apologize for." He clacked his beak into a smirk, looking over his shoulder at the seated vulpine. "Ladies love sexual confidence."

With a groan, the red fox leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes. "So unless you have a big inheritance you haven't told me about..."

She cast the bird an amused glance. "Been sitting on a nest egg, Falco?"

He threw his wings toward the ceiling. "How much could it possibly cost?"

The leader took a deep breath. "More money than you could spend in a lifetime."

"Ha!" He crowed smugly. "Don't underestimate me."

Motion out the plasma-scored window caught his attention—the sides of freighters already docked at the station rolled into view. A distant clank rattled through the ship, shifting the deck under their feet. The distinctive hiss of a pressure door connecting echoed down the hallways. 

Slippy's voice croaked over a partly-blown intercom speaker: "Endothermic ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the Zoness Orbital Terraformer."

"Come on, Falco." McCloud tipped his ears at the door. "We have some binding agent to unload."

"You gotta be kidding me." His sharp eyes peered down at the planet below. Though perhaps a few shades bluer than before, it still had massive algae blooms and dead brown patches. An odd sadness touched his tone. "The place's still total dump."

With a glance back, Fox paused at the door. "Which is why we're shipping them toxic waste binder." 

Krystal rested a blue paw on the bird's shoulder. "It always takes longer to fix something than to break it."

Just as fast as it had appeared, the flicker of vulnerability vanished behind a cocky smirk. "Whatever. Let's get this over with." He turned, smoothed his crest feathers, and strutted to the hallway. "I'm gettin' hungry."

The leader patted him on the back. "I think I know just the place."

~ ~ ~

The illustrious Star Fox team perched on the stools of a back-alley noodle shop. Neon flickered, casting artificial hues over the scruffy characters shuffling by: nimble delivery runners, off-duty environmental engineers, furtive freighter pilots. Fried oil wafted heavy in the air, coating the second-hand counter and battered barstools in a thin film. Not the most glamorous place for the saviors of the Lylat System, but the food was good. And cheap.

Falco slurped at a big bowl of fresh ramen noodles. Krystal nibbled at a skewer of roasted meat and vegetables, her keen teal eyes casting about the passing crowd as she soaked up their emotions. Sitting behind a heaped plate of wontons, Slippy happily snatched one dumpling after another with his sticky tongue.

On the other side of the counter, the shop owner, a woodchuck, wove twin spatulas in a magical pattern to imbue the food with extra tastiness. The grilled hissed with steam whenever he squeezed a shot of water onto it, unleashing a gout of steam. Pots of soup bubbled and burbled. Racks of fresh rice and buckwheat noodles shook to the faint rumble of the space station's power core.

A more insistent vibration distracted Fox from his noodle bowl. He glanced at his glove readout. The Great Fox II had been refueled. Good. They could wrap up here and head back out...to wherever the heck their next mission was. He'd have to check the shipping boards again. Maybe he could get another escort mission. Sure, following a cruise ship around was boring, but the pay was steady. Even if it meant weeks of Falco making jokes about other sorts of escort services he'd like to provide.

The street outside buzzed with commerce. Unfamiliar music danced by on cheap speakers. A snowy TV in the corner implored him to "shoot all three energy balls," complete with a cartoon character shoving them toward the screen before downing the small canister of orbs. The toon then bounced around the screen and accomplished various life objectives. Fox wasn't sure how many stimulants you could fit in a chocolate malted milk ball, but he was pretty taking three of them butted up against some legal limit.

Krystal looked content, gazing out at the crowd. Maybe she got tired of only sensing the emotions of three weirdos crammed in a rundown ship. Upon consideration, Fox found himself feeling a little better too. He'd made a difference here. Nobody would be fixing the biosphere of this planet if he hadn't stopped Andross. Sure, nobody was actively praising him, but he never knew what to do with hero worship anyway. People living their lives, working toward their unique happiness, thanks in part to him, was something to smile about. Granted, he'd smile even more if he could find a replacement reactor for the Great Fox II, but every person in that crowd outside probably had a similarly mundane goal in the back of their minds. If that wasn't the good life, it was within a hyper-jump of it.

Shifting light announced someone else coming in from the alley. Pattering in the noodle shop door, a weasel in a fitted business suit zipped inside, trotted over, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Mr. McCloud?"

The vulpine hesitated only a second. "Yes?"

"Today's your lucky day." The mustelid flashed a sharp-toothed grin. "I'm Ernie Erminson with Astrosurance, Inc. You smash 'em; we cash 'em!" He chuckled to himself. "Now, if you'll just sign here, we have a nice little moon we're prepared to give you."

"A moon, huh?" The red fox tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He deposited another bite of noodles into his muzzle.

Falco scoffed, turned up a wing. "This's what happens when you're the good guys—people give ya moons."

"I actually have the details here." The agent set his tablet on the counter. "It orbits Titania." The mustelid conjured a stylus from his sleeve, which he offered to Fox. "If you'll just sign at the bottom of the screen…"

Still nibbling a rainbow of peppers, Krystal's ears rose. "Isn't travel there restricted? I seem to remember something about giant sand monsters."

Conspicuously silent, Slippy comforted himself with another wonton. 

Fox, watching, slurped down more of his noodles. Whatever this guy wanted, probably best to let him give the details before committing. Eating provided some excellent cover when someone tried to read your expression, so long as you weren't concerned with looking overly interested. He, meanwhile, was mostly interested in finished the second half of his soup.

The weasel waved a quick paw at the holograms rising from the tablet's glass surface. "Actually, this moon's out beyond the planet's rings—so it's not explicitly forbidden by any treaty or law!"

The avian ace chuckled as he pulled an especially thick noodle from his soup like an earthworm from the ground. 

Swallowing, Fox studied the ghostly celestial body. "It doesn't even come with an atmosphere." He turned back to the weasel. "Is there anything valuable on the moon? Minerals? Ruins?"

"Maybe!" The slim businessman threw his paws in the air. "The real treasure is having your own moon."

Recovering, Slip bounced a bit with interest. "Under Cornerian finders-keepers law, we own a bunch of asteroids because we landed on them first."

Falco glanced up around a beakful of noodles. "Does crashing count as landing?"

The weasel twirled the stylus between nervous digits. "Our legal department has combined all the paperwork into this revised claim form. I just need one signature from you, Mr. McCloud, and we can get the ball rolling." He emphasized the statement with a smooth roll of his long backbone, which ended with him offering the pen again with a flourish.

Krystal brushed a lock of beaded hair from her face and subtly tapped her temple, then glanced to the weasel.

Pretending to wipe his muzzle, Fox mouthed a silent reply: "Con job." He turned back to the supposed insurance rep with a toothy smile. "Go on?"

The weasel's paws danced over the screen and pulled up some large figures. "We're also willing to consider a cash payout. We're prepared to offer you a lump sum of 2 million credits. Of course, if you'd take a structured payment, it would be much more over time."

On the far side of the weasel, Falco snatched the stylus and scribbled "Fox MacCloud" at the bottom of the contract. The tablet flashed red and beeped its rejection of the signature. The ace cawed in dismay. "Aw, seriously?" 

Fox ignored the blatant forgery. "Why are you even offering this deal?" He sipped his soup, which had rings of green onion floating in it. Probably grown hydroponically on the station. 

Hind paws shifting in a nervous dance, the mustelid chittered a chuckle. "It's not uncommon for us to seek a mutually-agreeable compromise with our most valued clients." 

Trying not to tip his paw, Fox took another bite of noodles. As he chewed, he tried to think of any property he might have a claim to. Maybe something on the Reinard side of the family? "Why'd you agree to insure something if you didn't have the capital to back it up?"

The mustelid gave a sinuous shrug. "It was very unlikely to be destroyed in any scenario other than the total destruction of our civilization. Win or lose, we never anticipated paying out for a 91% rebuild."

Fishing a final mushroom from the bottom of his bowl, the vulpine munched on it with weary regard. "A rebuild of what, exactly?"

With a flick of his digits, the weasel pulled up a listing on his tablet. "A musty, old Dreadnought-class heavy cruiser. Decades outdated."

Muzzle hanging open, McCloud dropped his chopsticks. A chain reaction of conclusions ended in extreme relief. His paw somehow managed to set his emptied bowl on the counter, then helped prop him up, feeling lightheaded and distant. Reaching into his pocket without looking, he slapped some credit chips beside it. He rounded on the agent. "Where?"

The mustelid blinked. "Oh! The Space Dynamics shipyards, but—"

"Right where we left it..." He grabbed Krystal by the paw, muzzle beaming with delight. "C'mon!"

The blue vixen, looking as if she didn't quite follow, followed him nonetheless. Her eyes reflected his hope, which she had no doubt sensed by now. He'd explain later. In his head, he started running the numbers for how fast they could get to Corneria at full burn.

Slamming his noodle bowl down onto the counter, Falco dashed after them.

Sensing a reprieve from table manners, Slippy dumped all remaining dumplings into his wide mouth. He washed them down with Falco's noodles before hopping along too.

"Wait!" The weasel did a war dance of shock, fumbling his tablet. "Where are you going?!"

A grin spread across the fox's face as he pushed through the crowd. "We're going home."

~ ~ ~

You didn't really think I was done, did you? ; )

New chapters will be coming out every Sunday and will double the length of the existing fic. Thanks to the generosity of the artists of the fandom, I got permission to use about a dozen really cool pieces of art, which I've written the chapters around.

Editors: Kohaku Nightfang, Slate, Pharrox, Eljot001, SillyNeko345, StarFox94, CarlMinez, T-Kay  
Art: Kaji (Used with permission.)

Also, yes, Fox Fuel soda is a real thing. http://www.thedragonsleeps.com/tds-n_other/fox-fuel.JPG It's from Jones Soda, of course. X) 

Want to help me write more stories? Pledge of my Patreon for exclusive development content and previews! https://www.patreon.com/Tempo

\- Tempo


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fox and Krystal find something to celebrate.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 7  
by Tempo

~ ~ ~

Hours later, Krystal found Fox standing on Space Dynamics station's observation deck—staring at the half-rebuilt Great Fox.

The interior of the station shone with steel and glass. They'd only been docked for the exact amount of time it took to run from the docking bay to the construction yards, ducking around and jumping over every worker and cleaning robot in his path, respectively. She considered herself in fine shape, but even she'd had trouble keeping pace. Her lover could move pretty fast when properly motivated. 

At the moment, he stood, marveling through the window, his nose about a centimeter from the surface. Beyond, the keel and ribs of the ship swept like lines of a draftsman's pen—gleaming silver against the starlit sky. Through the skeleton of the massive carrier, drones zipped merrily, like robotic honeybees, toting in cables and panels. Here and there, groups of them worked to push new hull plates into place. The bridge, which had functioned as an escape pod, hung at the far end, hull plates still scored from countless battles. 

With a deep breath of ionized space station air, the vixen stepped up behind her lover. Her toes tingled with cold. She hadn't even thought to put on warmer shoes. Another drawback of being an empath: it got that much easier to get swept up in the emotion of the people around you. 

He didn't turn, familiar enough with her to recognize her presence. Whether by sound or scent or something else, she couldn't be sure. Non-psychics worked in mysterious ways. His paw closed around hers, which had settled on his hip. 

Soaking up his complex emotions, she rested her muzzle against his cheek. She listened to his breathing, his state of mind. Reading someone's mind got easier once you yourself shut up. 

His tangle of feelings shifted a little toward comforted, matched by a brush of his tail against her knees. "That ship was my father's legacy. Is."

She nodded against his shoulder. 

"I mean, I knew I'd never see it again. I never had it as good as I did on that ship. I even met the love of my life there." He squeezed her paw. A tangle of emotions translated through his touch: disbelief, relief, hope.

She squeezed back, watching as his eyes misted. The bittersweet influx of emotion had her blinking back tears of her own. 

He pressed his free paw to the glass, reaching as close as it would let him. "And now here it is again. Well, some of it. But we won't be stuck on that old carrier, scraping by. You know, that thing's not as cheap to run as I let Falco tell himself." He cleared his throat. "Sorry, I'm babbling."

"It's alright." Her whiskers traced along his cheek ruff. "How do you feel?"

He shuddered through a sigh, which fogged the glass. "I feel like it's going to take a long time for the desperation to wear off." A nervous chuckle escaped his muzzle. "Other than that... Well, I might need your help sorting that out." Tension left him in waves as he melted against her touch. Minutes passed in comfortable silence. He cast her a smile truer and more fragile than she'd seen in a while.

She leaned in to nuzzle him. 

To one side, the door slid open just in time for Falco's beak. The blue bird sauntered into the room and glanced out the panoramic window athletes their long-lost home. "Huh."

Slippy and his father followed, croaking amiably about the latest trends in humidifier design. They waddled in like a pair of green potatoes. Beltino Toad looked virtually identical to his son, though Krystal supposed her mammal brain wasn't wired to spot differences between individuals within an amphibian species. Luckily, he wore glasses, a false mustache, and a permanent aura of puttering enthusiasm. 

A couple meters behind, a cargo robot trundled in with a pair of supply containers.

Shields of determination and discipline snapped into place around Fox's psyche. He turned and crossed his arms. "What's in the boxes?"

Beaming, Beltino adjusted his glasses. "You didn't think the bridge was the only part of the ship to survive, did you?"

Slippy bounced a little. "Dad has ships combing the debris field of Aparoid homeworld!"

The robot set the crates down with only a minor clank against the deck plates. It then rumbled back into the hallway and off to other duties. Krystal watched it go. She always found automatons a little unsettling: they occupied the same spaces as people, but were emotional voids. Unless someone had imprinted strong feelings on them, she had to rely on vision and hearing to notice them. 

The elder frog stroked his chin and pulled up the inventory on a tablet. "We recovered some personal effects: data cores, service medals, texts on avian reproduction—"

Falco raised a wing. "Those are mine!"

The foxes glanced at him with differing mixtures of amusement and resignation.

"What?" He shrugged, kicking open the crates and snagging the magazines. "I'm not lettin' him keep the things."

Beltino swept his hand dramatically at the crates. "Everything we found is in these crates."

Lombardi dug through the boxes, pulling out a tin of KeenPreen feather pomade. He scooped out a glop of it, worked the waxy substance into his crest, and swooped into an impromptu pompadour. Upon checking his reflection in the window, he pointed two primary feathers at himself in congratulation. After further digging, he quietly pocketed a bottle of clear goop labeled SnesGlide.

Krystal bent to find a high-heel boot, but found no sign of the other one. Some of the data cores might be hers —none were labeled— but none of the singed books and tattered clothes were hers. She'd nearly resigned herself to reclaiming nothing when she glimpsed a green gleam in the bottom of the second crate. She pushed a square, grey game controller out of the way to find a large green gemstone set in gold. The chain was nowhere to be found, but her heart fluttered nonetheless. She'd been wearing this same necklace the day she met Fox. Her paw lifted it carefully, the warmth of remembered emotion radiating from it.

McCloud propped fists on his hips. "You could've told me my ship was being rebuilt." He showed a few more teeth than she was accustomed to. 

"I assumed you knew! The insurance company started the claims process over a year ago—they said they'd notify you. We started the rebuild as soon as you dropped off the bridge." He poked at his tablet. "Corneria's defensive effectiveness drops by 19% while you're in that sub-optimal carrier."

Krystal watched with interest as her lover's outrage cooled to contemplation. He didn't feel completely reassured, but at least someone considered their importance to the system's security, even if he was oblivious to the team's insecurities. 

A burst of bravado and joy rose from Falco as he tucked the magazines into his jacket pocket. Reunited with his treasures, he migrated to the far side of the room, crossing his wings as he leaned against a bulkhead. "Only 19%, huh? We must be gettin' rusty."

"Anyway, I assumed you wanted it kept hush-hush, so I assigned it to the hangar where we typically build ring colony waste reclamation units."

"I've been recovering pieces of it from the debris of the Aparoid homeworld. We've been salvaging all sorts of interesting things from there." He gave a little bounce. "They had some very interesting technology."

Krystal cocked an ear. "Is that…wise?"

"Oh, it's quite safe." He waved away the concern with a sticky hand. "The Aparoids all underwent apoptosis, which is—"

"—triggered cell death." McCloud cast him a weary glance. "We remember."

The amphibian smoothed his false mustache. "Well yes, so there is little risk of anything untoward happening. Especially compared to that giant robotic gorilla. Did you know the Aparoids built everything with honeycomb structures? Very strong for their weight."

Fox nodded, betraying no visible sign of his previous emotion. Even compared to other non-empaths, he could lock down his posture and facial expression fast. "What's our timeline for completion?"

"Oh, I'd say another two months. Many of the cabin modules have already been assembled separately. It's much faster than the first time around, I can tell you that. Not only do we have the schematics, but Slippy's been taking excellent shakedown notes."

"You got it, Dad." The young frog tossed his father a thumbs-up.

Beltino returned the gesture without a trace of irony.

Falco rolled his eyes. "So what do we do now?"

"We stick around." Fox straightened with a wave of delight. "Make sure Beltino doesn't fill the Great Fox with untested tech."

The engineer pushed his glasses up his wet nose. "The Great Fox has always been an important testbed for—"

"When the fate of the civilization is on the line, I don't want to bet our lives on a beta version." He pressed a palm to the glass, then glanced back over his shoulder at the frog a moment later. "Even yours."

"Very well." He gave a low croak of resignation. "While your ship's in for the rebuild, I thought we might convince your team to help with some tests."

A thin chuckle escaped Fox's throat. "We're not opposed to earning our keep. What've you got? Laser bazookas?"

"No, no." He shook his wide head. "Super Scope trials have concluded for the time being."

McCloud managed to pry himself from the window. "No tests tonight, though."

"No no, the Great Fox won't be done for almost two mouths." His false mustache bent up with his wide smile. "We'll have all the time in the world for science!"

Slippy bounced with glee. "Yay!" 

Falco rolled his eyes. "Yay."

"Good, because I've had all the excitement I can handle today." Irresistible forces drew his muzzle back to the window. "I'm going to park the Great Fox II so I can see the Great Fox I from my quarters and get some rest."

"Oh, I assumed you'd be staying here." Beltino blinked. "I had the ambassador quarters prepared."

In the corner of his vision, Krystal raised her ears at him and mouthed the words "ambassador quarters."

The todd managed to turn away from his half-rebuilt ship, if only for a moment. "I guess we could take a look..."

~ ~ ~

Who knows where the story will go next? ; ) 

It's Sunday, and that means it's a Star Fox Sunday! I'll for the next couple months, I'll be posting an illustrated continuation of my SF series every weekend. : ) With special thanks to my patrons.

Art: Nuzzo (Used with permission.)  
Edits: Kohaku Nightfang, Slate, Pharrox, Eljot001, SillyNeko345, StarFox94, CarlMinez

Want early access to my stories and to help me write more of them? Become my patron! https://www.patreon.com/Tempo

\- Tempo


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the world going right again, Fox and Krystal celebrate in their quarters.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 8  
by Tempo

~ ~ ~

Krystal bit her lip. She wasn't feeling cold anymore. Especially between her bare thighs under the thin skirt. Neither birds nor amphibians possessed an especially keen sense of smell, thankfully. She didn't need to be an empath to smell the arousal wafting off her lover.

Fox no doubt thought he was being subtle. He'd limited himself to fleeting glances and rubbing his paw pads to hers as they held hands. She'd warned him about how physical contact only made reading his emotions easier. That part might have been intentional, considering he'd pulled off his gloves and tucked them into his belt. She could feel every pulse of arousal—whatever he was thinking about must truly be something. The corridor stretched on forever. 

Breathes came hurried and hot. Instinct urged her to press him against a bulkhead and shove a paw down his pants. 

Still transmitting scandalous vibes, the red fox managed to make small talk: making a basic schedule for tomorrow, reminding Slippy to move the ship from the station's primo docking slip, giving up the larger ambassador suite to Falco's ego. 

They came to the smaller cabin. Beltino slapped a moist flipper on the door panel, opening it. The room lay dark. Only the faint blue reflected off Corneria through the window lit the space. The sleekly-appointed space sported a sofa, table, decorative water feature, and, most notably, a bed. A quick glance at her lover's crotch revealed that he sported the first hint of something too.

Fox's arousal spiked, eyes locked on the bed as if calculating what maneuvers he could perform on it. His face gave nothing away, however.

The commissioner smoothed his necktie. "I hope you'll find this agreeable—"

The todd stepped inside, towed her in by the paw, and stood to give a polite bow of his head. "This will do nicely, Beltino. Goodnight, gentlemen." Before any of them, especially Falco, could respond, he punch the door control. It hissed closed, closing off the light and social constraints of the outside world. The next instant, he hit the lock button.

The vixen stood with him a moment, sensing the emotional presences of Slippy, Falco, and Beltino trailing off as they headed down the corridor and out of earshot. 

He turned to her, smiling with hard-won happiness. "Thanks. Thanks for always sticking with me. Even when life's hard or when I'm an idiot." He gripped her paw. 

In spite of the inadvertent teasing she'd gotten the entire way up to their quarters, she felt her eyes tearing up a little at his sincerity. "You do make an earnest effort on both fronts."

A wall of joy and lust hit her. Alone with her, the hero of the Lylat System gave an unabashed grin. 

In the cool light of the planet, she mentally urged him to pounce her before her panties vaporized from secondhand horniness. Another small step caused a line of lighting panels in the floor to glow softly, leading to the bathroom. Posh. She removed her bracers and tossed them by the bed.

He unbuckled his flight belt and let it clatter to the floor. A few steps brought him close enough to cup her face in his paw. He pulled her body against his as he drew her into a deep and eager kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth to intercept her own. He licked her teeth, paws swooping under her bikini top. 

Caught in the tractor beam of his passion, Krystal let him take the lead. Her legs spread to accommodate his knee, which put lovely pressure on her clit as she hunched down against him. Her paws reached behind her back, untying her top and then the belt of her skirt. Both fluttered to the deck, the fabric muffling the fall of her blaster staff.

Growling, McCloud play-bit at her neck. She tilted her head to give him full access. His erection jutted against her panties, the last holdout of her clothing. Those waves of lust and relief carried her back toward the bed. 

Stepping backward, she tripped trying to get out of her sandals. With a yip, she teetered on the edge of falling. 

Fox caught her, but, with a rascal's grin, lowered her to the deck. He lifted her feet one at a time, sliding the sandals free, then dove to seize her panties. His toothy grin gleamed in the reflected planet-light as he threw the cotton garment over his shoulder. "Comfy?" He hustled out of his flight jacket. It landed in the corner with a whap. His shirt joined it a moment later.

"Very." She reached down, spreading her legs and giving her slit some attention while she watched him undress. Two weeks without sex had left her a little tight. 

The reticle of his targeting visor locked on between her thighs, before he pulled the device off and dropped it on the table. He unzipped his fly, radiating anticipation. His bushy tail whipped side to side as he gazed down at her. He always looked so appreciative; a quality she found very gratifying. Pulling down his pants, he released the pressure-catch on his boots and stepped out of both. He stood before her in a pair of black boxer shorts. Cornerians seemed to favor sensible undergarments, Katt notwithstanding.

The vixen hooked her toes onto the waistband of his boxers and dragged them down. His stiff cock sprung up, a raised monument to vulpine arousal, half out of its sheath and angled at a steep climb. A sultry giggle escaped her muzzle. "Pent up?"

"Turned on." Jerking his sheath with one paw, he tried to untie his scarf, but gave up with an impatient growl. A glance down alerted him to the thick grey socks he still wore. He tried to pull them off and ended up in a hopping dance.

Krystal decided she must really be in love with him, since she found the sight of his bright pink erection bouncing around above her quite endearing. Precum sparkled in the starlight at its tip. Fluffy white balls hung below, slightly mussed from a day in boxers. The sight of him naked and confident sent her heart racing.

After Fox won the battle with his socks, he prowled down between her legs. That noble muzzle sunk between her thighs. She could feel his every breath as he nuzzled along her folds and traced his tongue, so tenderly, along them. A surge of sensation and emotion rushed through her. Spending so much time with him only got her more in tune with his emotions. He lavished her folds with frantic, wild licks. Those talented paws spread her thighs, then her lips for better access. 

The vixen squirmed. He homed in on her clit, giving it some extra attention between deeper licks into her passage and long laps around her spread slit. Her fingers spread against the deck, the smooth cool of the surface such a contrast to the whiskered muzzle working with joyous determination between her legs. Her breath came short, her passion boosted by the raw desire emanating from her lover. Before she even realized, her paws had rendezvoused with her nipples to tug insistently.

Her hips jerked, but he stayed on target. He knew all her weak points by heart, and now buffeted her stiff nub with lick after relentless lick. His strong paws grabbed her bum, lifting and steadying her so he could suck at her clit, then unleashed a volley of licks at top speed.

She went critical. 

With a shiver, her eyes rolled back. Her body arched and stiffened under his onslaught of oral attentions. Pleasure electrified her every nerve. Her passage clenched down on the slickness of his saliva. 

With a pleased growl, Fox licked his sticky muzzle. The naked fox climbed up her body. That red scarf dragged along her breasts, his copper pelt so alien in color against her natural blue fur, that pink length feeling so right prodding against her slit as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. She smelled herself on his breath.

Her yap of desire only accelerated his plans. She arched up from the deck, trying to angle her hips in a way to let him sink into her wet and ready folds. Still adrift in afterglow, she panted as he worked his cock into her. Between her own arousal and his going down on her, she felt luxuriously slick. A little tight, still, but the glide of smooth friction stimulated her in all sorts of lovely ways. A dreamy glance down revealed that, no, he was just exceptionally hard. Lucky her...

As she watched, he scooted forward on his knees and buried that pink shaft in her. The knot bumped against her lips, too big to fit, but lovely in its own way as it bumped against her sensitive folds. 

The sight of his favorite flight scarf dark with her juices made her blush. Her paws stroked his hair, then down across his toned back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, ankles crossed over the base of his tail. Her own tail lifted between his thighs as her body instinctively curled to better accept those lovely penetrations. 

He grabbed himself by the sheath and started massaging it with frantic need. A rock of his hips ground that hefty knot against her entrance. He still bounced against her, sliding her by millimeters against the polished flooring. 

Motivated by equal parts pride and mischief, the vixen squeezed down on his shaft. He made all manner of pleasing sounds, particularly when she timed it right to clench him while he pulled back, only to welcome him back in with relaxed muscles. 

With a massive groan, he shuddered above and inside her. His orgasm arrived as blast of wet warmth and a burst of ecstatic emotion. Both surged on for several seconds, then tapered off to a satisfied growl as his weight settled onto her. 

She lay back, savoring the sensation of Fox atop her. They lay in darkness, on the bare floor of a strange room, wrapped up in each other's love. She couldn't imagine a more comfortable place.

Grinning, he panted, stirring her hair: "We didn't make it to the bed."

She giggled and stroked his ears. "We scarcely made it to the room."

He flashed a cocky grin. She always liked seeing Fox in his element. Quite rewarding to know making love with her was becoming something he could break out a confident smile for. "Should we move to the bed?"

"Mmmm." She squirmed under him, feeling the slick wonder of his softening length inside her. "As long as you cover me, Star Fox One."

"Don't call me that at a time like this." Ears dropping, he gave a shy chuckle. "I'll never be able to hear it without blushing again."

She cast him a sultry gaze. "Maybe that's what I want."

Shaking his head, he slipped free of her with a sopping slurp. The sound seemed quite loud in the quiet of the room. They both smirked at the sound. He helped her up and onto the bed. 

Tracing her paw pads across the bed told her the sheets had a stellar thread count. She looked up at him. Tracing a claw along her lower lip, still feeling the lingering devotion of his kiss. A blush glowed with heat under her fur. Her eyes met his. Then they drifted to his not-yet-soft dick. Clearly, the todd hadn't been lying about being distracted the last little while. 

Ears erect and tuned on her, Fox stroked himself hard as she spread her legs at the edge of the bed. He climbed between them and pressed his cock to her loosened and sensitive folds. She curled her tail up against his, urging him to enter her fully. He sank in, that supple sheath bunching up against her delicate outer lips. 

Together, they rocked against the bed, less energetic now, but no less enthusiastic. Her body hummed with pleasant sensation as he built up a rhythm. He humped her into the silky sheets, bouncing her on the springy mattress. He didn't try anything fancy, just a good old-fashioned gripping-her-hips, making-her-breasts-shake lovemaking. Arms spread across the bed, she lay back and enjoyed the double-dose of sensation: her own, and the returning crescendo of his arousal.

Unable to hold back any longer, Krystal reached down to finger herself. At the apex of each thrust, the bulge of his knot bumped hot against the tip of her clit. Gasping, she rubbed her stiff nub in eager circles. Her hips bucked up to meet his, driving that lovely vulpine cock that much deeper, popping that still-swelling knot inside her slick entrance. Physical and psychic stimulation conspired against her, casting her headlong into pleasure. Ecstasy washed over her. Ears flat against her skull, she buried her fingers in his back fur and clenched down on him. Behind his back, her toes curled and splayed as she urged him to thrust faster. Her squeal of joy rattled through the borrowed quarters: "Fooooooxxx! Y-yes-yeeeees!"

Fox took her encouragement to heart. Grunting with effort, he pounded her hard enough to jingle the beads in her hair. His previous load dripped down along the base of her tail. That thick cock did its best to pump the rest of it out of her. With every thrust, his knot spread her passage wide.

With a final desperate yowl of passion, he worked that girthy knot into her one last time. The instant her folds closed around behind it, she felt his balls jump. Heat pulsed once against her walls. Still trembling, he gave her the lightest kiss on her cheek before snuggling in atop her.

They lay like that for a long while. Krystal watched as the planet slid slowly by, tiny motes of light marked cities and shuttles, people going about their daily lives. Through her endorphin haze, she couldn't make them out distinctly, but she knew some of them had to be as in love as she was. The thought made her smile. 

After ten minutes or so, Fox's knot slipped free with a slow slide. He nuzzled in against her neck. In a perfect moment, she lay, Fox's head resting on her breasts. The heat of their exertions dissipated from her fur. In the faint light of the planet, she spied a trace of saliva and her own fluids on his muzzle. She considered teasing him about liking her taste, but the todd gave a blissful growl. The steady rise and fall of his chest, the faint trace of drool, the shameless nuzzling: all indications pointed to him being asleep. 

She rolled her eyes. She'd heard that boys conked out after orgasm, but she'd rarely seen it with Fox. As he drifted from one happy dream to another, she stroked his hair and simply soaked up the all the shades of happiness floating around the cabin.

~ ~ ~

I didn't mean to tease you guys like this; it's just the natural breaks in the scenes around the art. This is one of the older pics for the series, and one I've liked for a really long time, especially since it conveys story and personality so well. Anyway, hope you're liking it so far! ^_^

Editors: Kohaku Nightfang, Slate, Pharrox, Eljot001, SillyNeko345, StarFox94, CarlMinez  
Art: Jonas (Used with permission.)

Want early access to my stories and to help me write more of them? Become my patron! https://www.patreon.com/Tempo

\- Tempo


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team settles in at the station as they meet one of Lylat's other famous pilots.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 9  
by Tempo

_The team settles in at the station as they meet one of Lylat's other famous pilots._

~ ~ ~

  
  


The next morning, the team met for breakfast in the station's board room. Fox surveyed the space, which featured a polished wooden table and the commissioner croaking merrily about proposals while standing at a projection screen. Falco and Slippy were already there, engaged in an eating contest. He decided against telling the ace those hash browns comprised mainly of crickets.

The vixen settled into a chair and poured herself a tall glass of striped melon juice, which settled into stripes again in the glass. She drank it with eager grace, gaining an alibi for licking her whiskers at him.

Blushing a little, Fox sat down and unwrapped a muffin. "Okay, so what do you have in mind?"

"Oh, nothing too strenuous—" The mustachioed frog glanced down at his buzzing wrist watch. He pressed a button on it, activating a small hologram projector. 

The face of a lizard in a control headset winked into being. "Commissioner! We have an unscheduled Cornerian Army shuttle in-bound. ETA three minutes. The pilot claims you knew she was coming."

"Superb!" The frog clicked the projector off and beamed at the team. "Star Fox, if you'd be so kind as to accompany me to the cargo bay, we're getting a special delivery."

~ ~ ~

Fox entered in the hangar bay, followed by his team and Beltino. The sprawling space stood four decks tall and wide enough to dwarf the four Arwings parked along one wall. Power, fuel, and data cables strung from the familiar fighters, as a cheetah mechanic ran diagnostics from a workstation that could retract flush with the deck if more landing space was needed. Massive hydraulic lifts rested in the corner like snoozing sauropods.

Beyond the glow of the atmospheric screen, a spark in the distance grew to a small silver ship. Transport shuttle, one of millions in the Lylat System, used by everyone from bakeries to bandits. This one bore the green stripes and registry number of a military craft. 

A soft crackle of energy announced its passage through the atmo screen. The shuttle spun an adroit turn above their heads and settled to the hangar deck. Its rear cargo door unsealed with a hiss and thrummed open. A slender fennec in a Cornerian flight suit strode down the ramp. She stood about level with Fox's chest. She pulled her helmet off two considerable ears and tucked it under an arm, raising the arm other to the elder frog. "Beltino. How's the competition?"

The rotund amphibian straightened his posture and his tie. "Your father is keeping me from any meaningful share of the civilian market, as ever."

Closing in fast, she turned to the team and extended a slim paw. "Fara Phoenix. Chief test pilot of the Cornerian military."

The red fox gave it a firm shake. Her glove felt almost hot. She must have its internal heater cranked. "Fox McCloud. Unemployed mercenary."

A subtle twinkle of amusement entered her features. She nodded to the rest of the team, then locked back onto Fox. A smooth gesture snagged a tablet from her belt, on which she examined a cargo manifest. "Secure comm equipment, electronic countermeasure suite, solid-state targeting computer..." She looked up. "Commander Grey pulled some serious strings to get you this tech. Most of the fleet's running older gear than this."

Fox smiled. "Good old Bill. I'd have to buy him a beer."

A cynical caw took flight from his wingman's beak "I think Bill likes somethin' a little more substantial in his off-hours."

"Not just here to watch the construction then?" The older frog waddled up beside her. "It's not every day we build a new Dreadnought."

"Nor should you. More than one would flood the market." The fennec's massive ears lifted. "I do find ship construction soothing, though. It reminds me of my childhood."

A cargo robot trundled onto the shuttle and carried the blue metal containers out one at a time. Each crate bore a Cornerian military emblem on the side, along with a small touchscreen keypad on the front. 

The small vulpine punched a code into each, which elicited a loud clank as it unlocked. Her ears barely poked over the top. "Self-destructs disabled. They're all yours, Beltino."

With a croak of excitement, the amphibian stumped forth to examine the devices.

Fox raised his ears. "Just how destructive are they?"

The ghost of mischief manifested on her muzzle for a moment. "Sufficient to discourage curiosity."

The cargo robot wheeled out a fourth crate, this one flame-orange with a stylized phoenix logo.

Krystal inclined her muzzle toward the box. "Your luggage?"

"A gift from my father." Mirth tinged her voice. "The old todd unwinds by building shield generators. This one's always been his favorite. Use it in good health."

"Father Phoenix is feeling generous?" Beltino tapped a finger on his lips. "Now there's an interesting anomaly."

Her whiskers lifted a millimeter for a fond smile. "He's come to the conclusion that invasions are bad for business." 

"Ah. Now that does sound like my old rival." The commissioner verified that his mustache was still affixed. 

Pride added an inch or so to her height. "And he likes to make his little girl happy." 

Krystal gave a look of comprehension. Her banded tail swished a subtle wag. "You asked on our behalf."

The fennec nodded. "You may be a wrecking ball, Star Fox, but you swing the right direction. And the harder you hit, the smaller the pieces the military has to clean up." She hooked her helmet to the belt of her flight suit. "Not that you'd get a chance without us there to pin the enemy down."

"Excuse me?" The avian ace crossed his wings. "Maybe you haven't heard about the cloaked pirate battleship we just sunk all by ourselves."

Those shapely ear lowered behind her head like a diving eagle's wings as her muzzle swooped up at him. "A squad of Arwings can punch through almost anything, but when was the last time you fought a delaying action or blocked forces from reaching a planet? We all have our roles to play, Mr. Lombardi. Today, my role was to bring you some very expensive presents without undue attracting attention." She jerked a thumb back at the cargo shuttle.

Falco opened his beak to retort, only to have Fox leap up and press it closed with both paws. Sharp, avian eyes flashed to the mammal. "Mmf mah m-mm-mah-mah mmf…"

McCloud gave a toothy grin, not letting go. "He says 'thank you very much.'"

A wry look rose on her muzzle, though she quickly turned her gaze to the fighter craft before her. "I've never seen production Arwings in person." She ran a paw along the nose cone of Slippy's starfighter, her paw pads coming away with a fine dusting of soot. "Yours look...well-loved."

"That particular charring is carbonized snack cakes." Slippy puffed up with pride. 

After processing that comment for a moment, Fara nodded. "I flew the Arwing prototype, what feels like a lifetime ago." She tucked the tablet back into its holster on her flight belt. "I recommended their adoption, but command played it safe with the FX-15 and 16. More parts in common. Less radical design."

McCloud released his friend, but remained ready to tell the bird to go stuff himself. In the years since the Academy, he'd forgotten how poorly the former delinquent reacted to authority figures. 

Falco immediately crowed: "How's that workin' out for ya?"

Her green eyes narrowed on the bird. "Considering they get a whole squadron of FXs for the price of an Arwing, they're happy." She continued her inspection of the blue and white fighter craft. "I petitioned to have the prototype taken out of mothballs for my personal use during the Lylat Wars, but my CO refused because we didn't have the support systems or spare parts."

"You should see what Slippy's done to the things." The avian smirked and hooked a feather toward the fighters. "They're mostly duct tape and chewing gum on the inside now."

"I tried chewing gum once…" The frog blinked and stroked his lack of a chin, thinking back. "…Never really figured it out."

Fox leaned over. "You don't have teeth, Slip. It makes a difference."

His eyes widened. "Ohhhhhh."

Beltino straightened his spectacles. "Had it not been for the intervention of James McCloud—"

"—and his apparently stellar credit score—" A coy smile flashed white across the tall vixen's blue muzzle.

"—the entire Arwing project might have been scrapped." His green hands waggled up into the air. 

The red fox ran a paw over his white hair. "So where is this prototype now?"

Those ample ears swiveled to him, followed by her delicate muzzle. "The lobby."

"That thing's real? Jeez laweez!" He flapped with outrage. "Why isn't mine painted gold?"

"It's not painted gold." She cast him a deadpan glance. "It's just made of gold."

His crest rose as his beak fell open. "Why am I only learnin' this now?" 

"We had to make the G-diffuser casings out of gold." Beltino rocked side to side, pleased with himself. "We ran out of funding, and it was the second most effective option."

McCloud glanced askance at his avian friend. "Remember that next time you think I'm exaggerating our repair costs." 

"So what material are they now?" Krystal toyed with a string of beads in her hair and eyed the casing. 

"It's the most resilient conductive ceramic ever devised." Slippy interlaced his fingers behind his head kicking his stumpy legs up as he paraded around the group. "Painted blue."

Beltino beamed with pride. "Trademark: Beltinolium."

"I've never given it much thought." Fox cast a fresh glance to the very familiar craft. "Why were they painted blue in the first place?"

"Your father added that to the order at the last minute." The older frog hooked his thumbs into his belt. "It was going to be a 79.5-year loan, but he wanted a nice round number. He nearly chose flames instead."

"Ugh!" Falco groused toward the distant ceiling. "I'm livin' in the lamest possible universe."

From the opposite side of the hangar, a raccoon-dog and a rabbit in Space Dynamics overalls arrived to inspect the delivery. They opened the orange crate to reveal a domed metal cylinder, nearly as tall as a fennec. Metal coils girded the device, nowhere showing a single seam or weld. Every centimeter of the generator shone with polished chrome, save for the occasional component coated in blazing orange enamel. A massive flaming bird soared above the control panel, its wingtips just shy of the support struts. The rabbit lifted and lifted her ears at a bag of individually bubble-wrapped chrome bolts. Each bore a miniature version of the company logo on the head.

Beltino ribbited: "Ostentatious, as ever."

Krystal peered down at the chrome contraption. "It's lovely."

"I'll say!" Slippy nodded.

"I'm glad Father listened to reason and donated it to the project." Fara crossed slender arms over a modest bosom. "I was starting to worry he was saving it to be my wedding gift."

Falco and Fox exchanged a glance of disbelief. 

The few other techs on deck ambled over, drawn over by the shining shine to shield generator workmanship. They pored over its enclosed technical manual with reverence and revelations. Slippy leaned back, hoping to see the schematics, then wobbled and almost tipped backward.

Its metallic sheen caused Fox to reflect on the previous topic. "Is the prototype Arwing any different?"

"It's faster and less armored." The test pilot gave a mild shrug. "A single ion missile could probably take it down. Barely has room for a pilot, thanks to the oversized plasma reactor needed to fire all three lasers simultaneously."

"Sounds great." The bird's crest rose with a smirk. "Let's trade."

"Oh, Mr. Falco, you don't want that one." The older frog chuckled and waved a flipper at the thought. "We never could get the landing gear to work right."

He crowed with delight. "Why would I ever land?"

Slippy's father turned away from the bird and to the fennec. "We were just heading up to Lab 2. If you wish to join us..." 

"I promised Father I'd oversee the installation of his pet project personally." Fara tilted her delicate muzzle to the generator, which the technicians were loading into the mechanical mandibles of a worker bee construction unit. "Seems he doesn't trust you not to disassemble it."

"Only to see how it worked!" Beltino croaked indignantly. 

"We'd put it back together!" Slippy chimed in.

"I'm sure." She pulled her helmet back on over those massive ears and clipped the chin strap in place. "I'll be along."

"Very well." The older frog nodded. "I can have one of the engineers show you the way up."

"I know my way around, Commissioner." She waved a small paw in the air without turning around. "I'll be by after a little industrial espionage." With a hop of surprising height, she climbed into a second worker bee. Her sandy tail trailed in after her as she closed the canopy. The engines flared to life the next instant and the craft hovered out the atmo screen after the first bee.

Beltino adjusted his glasses. "Well, I suppose I can always scan it later... Come along, Star Fox. I think you'll be impressed by our latest efforts."

~ ~ ~

Krystal shadowed the others into a lift, silent and soaking up their interesting bouquet of emotions. The lift doors whispered shut. The floor rumbled lightly as they ascended several decks.

Wings crossed, Falco leaned against one bulkhead. "Well, well: test pilot, daughter of a shipbuilding tycoon, and ears from here to Sector Z." His beak switched to all-smirk mode. "You must be regrettin' the wild blue yonder now, eh Foxy?"

"Eh, not really." His paw rolled back and forth in the air before him. "She looks a little too much like my mother."

The blue vixen chuckled. Not that she judged Fox for involuntary bursts of attraction. Once she broke through his shields a little more, perhaps she could watch porn with him.

"Oh, lemme guess." He scoffed. "Yer mother was a naturally-occurrin' color."

"Thank you, Falco." The vulpine rolled his eyes. "When Peppy retired, I worried nobody would bring up my dead parents in every conversation."

She reached over and quietly took his paw. He couldn't detect her emotions from physical contact, but a little crackle of comfort translated through their touch, letting her know the message had been received. 

The doors hissed open. The team followed Beltino down a corridor, then through a wide door.

Before them stood a laboratory, packed with strange equipment and stranger scientists. The air hummed with electronics and the chatter of technicians, fluorescent lighting abuzz overhead. Krystal stepped out from behind the privacy curtain, settling the black catsuit's gloves onto her fingers. While she appreciated denying Falco the chance to leer at her changing, she smiled at how body-shy Cornerians could be. Back on Cerinia, being glimpsed naked now and then was almost expected, like someone seeing you having a nap—a risk on sunny days. 

Heavy as the fabric felt, it allowed a nice range of movement. Not bad for a spacesuit. Through the expert tailoring, she noticed thin wires in the seams, as well as a metallic weave to the surface cloth. 

A collie technician knelt beside her and adjusted a flexible readout on the thigh. "Anything pinching?"

"No, it's quite comfortable. The trouble was getting it on my tail." She glanced back to watch the strangely compact appendage sway.

The tech's floppy ears waggled as quick paws tapped in calibration commands. "The full-body scanner has trouble accounting for fur thickness."

"That scan better not turn up anywhere!" The avian cawed. Wings crossed, he leaned against a bulkhead. "I didn't sign yer paperwork."

Seated on a steel bench, McCloud groaned. "Falco, would you shut up about their nondisclosure agreement?" 

The blue vixen tapped a claw to her chin. "Considering the scan would show him without any feathers, I can think of at least one pink feline who'd be curious."

"I don't know about you guys..." Slippy waddled in with cheery indifference, looking for all the world like a covert-op potato. "...but I'm finding this suit really supportive!"

Fox and Falco declined to ask how, failing to hide their discomfort even from non-telepaths. The super-clingy black body suits didn't hide much either.

With a contemplative murmur, Krystal ran a paw down one slinky sleeve of her suit, then the other. The fabric clung to her every contour. "I think it's very flattering." She cast a glance down her lover's body. 

Catching her looking, he tossed her a little smile, even as he shifted uncomfortably. "I think it makes me look scrawny." 

"I love you for your heart." She patted a paw on his shoulder, slid it over his chest, then leaned to his ear. "And your cute bum."

Ears sprung stiff, he reached to touch her fingers. He looked her outfit over with a nervous chuckle. "Don't you already own one of these?"

"Several…" She swished her tail. "...but none that are also a spacesuit." 

A scoff rasped from the pilot's beak. "I know ya just recently discovered wearin' more than underpants, but I got a thing to show ya. It's called a t-shirt."

The vixen flashed him a stern look. "I can lay bare your innermost secrets on a whim."

His feathers ruffled with panic. "What?!"

Krystal crossed her arms. "I said I know what t-shirts are, Falco."

"No, you didn't!" The bird scowled at her, anger radiating off him. 

Ignoring them, Fox stood, which gave her an excellent view of his rump. Did his suit have more tail room? It looked like it did. She contemplated checking with a quick grope, but a door to one side of the lab opened.

A group of engineers brought out four suitcase-like devices. With the help of the collie tech, Krystal stepped into hers, reached in to grip it with both paws, and stood. With an intricate series of clicks and clatters, the unit unfolded over her body. A quiet whirr tightened plates in place to form a light suit of segmented armor. Leaving her head and hands free, the suit moved with her, its weight distributed over the heavy boots. Not bad. 

She stole a last look at Fox's hindquarters before they too vanished under a rolling wave of metal plates. Lights flicked to life around the suit. The rest of the team suited up too.

Her fellow vulpine clicked a button at his collar. Those green eyes locked on hers, halves of a helmet flashed with a gleam as they rose to close over his smirking muzzle. Through the faceplate, a HUD lit his face a pale green. "Well, now I know how to activate the helmet. That's a start."

From a control console at the far end, Beltino Toad tottered onto the center of the room. "The suits exchange CO2 for O2 whenever possible, so no manual refilling is required. Even in a toxic environment you, they'll continue to process any ambient oxygen."

"Does it come in red?" The bird inspected his gloved wing, then smoothed his crest. "'Cause black does nothing for my plumage."

"It's designed to keep you alive in space." The todd cast him a narrow glance. "Why do you care what color it is?"

Krystal examined the tiny pockets designed around her claws. "I'd take a nice deep violet, to go with the silver plates."

Fox rolled his eyes. 

Slippy croaked with glee. "The outer-suit's highly conductive, for additional protection against electrocution and lasers."

"Oh swell." With a squawk of derision, the bird tapped his chest. "Instead of a little hole burned through me, I get roasted."

The frog's father looked up from his clipboard. "We used a shear-thickening fluid as the sealant gel, so it should cushion impacts. Combined with the para-aramid fiber lining, it will stop most projectiles."

The younger frog grinned with pride. "All in a couple millimeters of thickness!"

Falco flicked him in the temple.

"Hey!" The squat frog glared at his wingmate, rubbing the site of the attack. "What’s the big idea?"

"Found a flaw." He lifted a feather. "It doesn't work if you hit him in the head." 

The techs scribbled this observation down. Bentino nodded with particular interest.

Fox clicked his collar control again, the helmet splitting back to settle on his chest and back. "That's why we have these." He turned to the older amphibian. "I have some actual feedback: all these glowing parts will make it hard to sneak around."

The vixen's ears rose. "When have you snuck anywhere, Fox?"

The spectacled frog looked up from his clipboard. "Some are indicators. Others are to illuminate the area around you."

"Maybe make them turn down when you switch off the helmet lamp?" McCloud watched as a shiba inu in a lab coat connected leads from a handheld device to various points on his suit. "Overall, my first impressions are good."

"Excellent." Bentino flicked through a few pages on his digital clipboard. "While I have you as captive audience, I thought I might bring up some other projects we'd like you to test."

Fox shrugged as much as he could in the calibration equipment. "Fire away, Commissioner."

The elder frog gestured his assistants to dim the lights, then activated a 3D projector. "First of all, and we're very excited about this one, we have a system to transform the Arwings into mecha."

Slippy's eyes grew wide, the image of a convertible tank reflected in them. "Cool!"

Falco pumped a fist. "Heck yes!"

Fox groaned. "No."

"Now Fox, the upgrade will only reduce the flight capabilities by about ten percent." Slippy's dad gummed at the end of a stylus, muttering. "Maybe fifteen."

The todd gave him a serious look. "The last thing I need is a reduced-capabilities fighter that turns into an inferior tank so it can get too smashed up to fly." 

"It's not a tank, strictly." The old frog pushed up his glasses. "More of a light mecha."

The bird eyed the hologram's spindly legs. "It's a chicken-walker."

"Just give us a tank again." Fox spread a paw. "You have to be developing one."

Beltino pushed his glasses up his broad nose. "Tanks are very expensive."

McCloud lifted his arm so the techs could get at an access panel. "So are Arwings."

Krystal perked up. "Wasn't that the point of the Landmaster? A tank with Arwing parts so you can save on costs?"

The mustachioed frog tapped on the clipboard for emphasis. "Yes, but why not have a tank that can airlift itself into combat?"

The red fox rolled his eyes. "Okay, so build that and we'll test it."

"Hmm. We've also been developing a hovercraft that drops a combat drone." The bespectacled amphibian skipped to the next projection. "As you can see, the drone can pick up and use any small arms on the battlefield."

The blue vixen nodded. "That might be useful. We could drop it behind enemy lines to flank or create a diversion, then fly off before they could target us."

"Oh, no. You can't leave it." The elder amphibian tapped a few buttons, evoking a holographic gunship dangling a robot. "To secure it from hacking, we eliminated any wireless technology."

Falco's lower beak dropped. "That sucker's on a tether?"

Slippy's father adjusted his necktie and pointed it out in the 3D projection. "A combined power and data cable, yes. I assure you, it's a very secure platform."

Fox sighed. "Assuming we don't get shot down hovering in one place, what's to stop someone cutting the cord?"

"Ah!" He scribbled notes on his tablet. "See, this is just the sort of valuable expertise we consult you for."

The vixen pointed to the underside of his holographic gunship. "Why not just attach it to the ship directly and call it a turret?"

Half-listening, Beltino scrawled on the schematics, causing armor to spring into existence on the holographic cable. "Well, then it wouldn't be a drone...." 

"Ah, so you are Slippy's father." She smirked. "I was beginning to wonder."

The calibrations continued. A small crowd of technicians hovered around, taking notes. 

"Can you rig it so can I fire all three of the laser cannons at once?

"Certainly!" He croaked agreeably. "The Arwing itself doesn't produce enough power for that, but so long as the ship is connected to a sufficient external power source, like a docking bay, it can fire all three."

"So my fighters are at their most destructive when they're inside my carrier." Fox stood with arms outstretched as a tech strapped him into a vest covered in tiny blinking lights. In trying to help them, his paw brushed some of the buttons on the chest. With a beep, the emergency space helmet deployed, snapping closed over his head and directly onto his whiskers, prompting a yelp of outrage as he fumbled for the retract controls.

Krystal winced at the spike of unexpected pain from her boyfriend. Once he'd gotten himself sorted out and given the suit a proper glare, she made sure to meet his eyes and give him a look of sympathy. Whiskers were sensitive and whisker-pulls were the worst.

The vixen's ears perked toward the main lab door. Someone was coming down the corridor. Fire-forged determination and hard-won confidence stood out against the excitable curiosity of the techs. She'd only felt this aura once before, down in the hangar bay, but she recognized it instantly.

The doors hissed open to admit the petite form of Fara Pheonix. "I thought you should be aware that our host is installing scavenged Venomian tech in your ship." She waved a tablet displaying a close-up photo of the construction.

"A product of our reverse-engineering efforts on the industrial sites of Eladard. We aren't entirely sure what alloy it's made of, but its heat density is through the roof!" The frog corrected the point pointedly. "We've fitted as a dedicated heat sink for the T&B-H9 hyper lasers." He puffed up with pride. "By our calculations, it should allow you around 17 seconds extra of firing time."

The todd nodded. "And if we fire it after that?"

"It melts through the hull and safely exits the ship." A summoned a new hologram, this one showing an irregularly-shaped object emerging from just above the lower flight bay, glowing with heat.

Krystal raised a gloved paw. "Isn't that a tad...dangerous?"

"Not as dangerous as it staying in place." He chuckled and patted his considerable middle, then swept an index finger at her. "Once it cools, you simply collect it from space and replace any melted components."

Without a word, Fara pressed past the technicians and held the tablet up to Fox's nose.

His teeth bared at the image. "Why is it shaped like Andross's face?"

"It looked like that when we dug it up!" The middle-aged frog propped flippered fists on his hips. "Its melting point is obviously quite high, so melting it down just to recast it seemed a waste of resources for an additional 0.3% boost in performance."

"It'll have an impact on my performance if half of Deck 4 is taken up by a glowing metal bust of that psycho." He was struck by an image of Falco cooking burgers on it.

He shook his head and made some notes on his clipboard. "Very well. Though half the deck is a vast overestimate. Ten percent, at most." A pout somehow appeared on his wide face. "I never can factor in the tendencies of endotherms."

The avian turned to the blue vixen. "Ya ever get the feelin' we're only alive because nobody'd tell Andross which designs were horrible?"

"Whatever do you mean, Falco?" Krystal feigned shock. "I personally see no design flaws with a giant spider robot with one tiny gun to guard its massive, exposed, glowing reactor core."

"Let's not complain too much about that." Fox glanced between them. "I would've liked a glowing reactor core to shoot when I was being chased by the RedEye King."

The bird groaned. "Jeez. The guy gets attacked by a T-rex one time and we never hear the end of it..."

"I was psychically linked with you for that one." Krystal looked him over in amusement. "I've never seen you jump that high again."

McCloud ran a paw over his face. "Dinosaurs trying to eat me have that effect."

~ ~ ~

I've always thought Fara was a cool character (I have a soft spot for badass ladies), though it took me a while to figure out how she could integrate into the current timeline. As is my policy for fanfics, I extrapolated everything I could based on SF2 and the old comics. This chapter is also packed with even more obscure SF references than usual. X)

Editors: Kohaku Nightfang, Slate, Pharrox, Eljot001, SillyNeko345, StarFox94, CarlMinez, Archaesophilia  
Art: Nimrais (Used with permission.)

Like what you see? Subscribe to my Patreon to help me produce more! https://www.patreon.com/Tempo

\- Tempo


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team settles in at the station, only to stumble upon the plans of an old enemy…

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 10  
by Tempo

_The team settles in at the station, only to stumble upon the plans of an old enemy…_

~ ~ ~

Fox awoke to the faint din of music. Ears perked against the pillow, he opened bleary eyes to see his bunkmate sitting at the edge of their bed. She wore only ease and star shine. As seconds passed to minutes, the clean light of a stellar sunrise lit a halo around her, every fringe of fur aglow. Over her ears pulsed the soft glow of audiophile headphones, a gift from Katt. The vixen nodded with a smile, lost in the song. He didn't move for fear of disturbing her, though she soon turned her teal eyes toward him. 

Lifting one leg to her chest, she rested her head on her knee with a quiet smile. "Felt you looking."

"Can you blame me?" He reached over to stroke her silken tail. Jeweled bands clasped around it already; she must have gotten distracted by the music halfway through getting dressed. 

Her tail swished with pleasure under his touch. She lowered the headphones to her neck, letting the next song spread out to fill their temporary quarters. He'd never heard the tune, something atmospheric, but admitted it was a good piece for stargazing. Her hair felt to one side as she tilted her head in slow study of him. "Those felt like some peaceful dreams. First you've had in a while."

"Looking on the bright side's easier when our prospects aren't so dim." He patted her tail. "I hope my stressed-out dream don't keep you up."

"Being in bed with you has never been about getting more sleep." She cast him a sultry smirk. "But my best sleep is with you." Her paw covered his. 

His fingers entwined with hers. "I'd call that mission accomplished."

Stretching from tail to toes, she leaned back to lay beside him. "You're like a big warm comforter blanket. Cozy and soft."

"Ah yes." He rolled smiling eyes. "Who doesn't want a soft boyfriend?"

"You're hard when the situation merits." That delicate face nuzzled into his chest fluff. "But soft is a lovely default state."

His fingers trailed through her pelt, drawing her gently close. "You make a good point."

"Of course I do." She smiled up at him, whiskers infused with glow from still-playing headphones. "I'm the wise one, remember?"

His nose found hers, l leading them to kisses. They lay there for uncounted minutes, enjoying each other. Her music played on all the while.

~ ~ ~

Krystal traced her paw pads over Fox's as they stood in a shuttlepod. He smiled to her, radiating affection and a fading grogginess. He'd stayed up watching the construction again. The scent of coffee and shampoo filled the enclosed space. 

The Great Fox shone before them, silver-hulled and red-lettered. Flood lights illuminated swaths of it for inspection. The bridge and observation deck glowed against the dark of space. 

Toaster-size robots scooted past the glass canopy. Every one headed toward the ship toted a small piece of equipment, except for the ones working together to haul larger parts. Brilliant light flashed here and there as the worker bots welded the fighter bay subassembly into place. Installing the laser canons had been delayed by the reforging that giant heat sink, but those too had been fitted now. Technicians in their own shuttlepods inspected the work, nodding with approval. A raccoon-dog rocketed past in a spacesuit, waving at them with a spanner.

Through the domed window of the shuttlepod, the red fox raised his mug in salute. His ears had perked up and she doubted it was entirely the coffee's doing. With its wings in place, the Great Fox had finally regained its familiar silhouette against the backdrop of the massive hangar; beyond, the stars sparkled with infinite promise. Space Dynamics built far larger ships, but Krystal doubted the techs exuded this level of excitement for every ship. Fox seemed to be gaining energy from proximity to it. 

Passing through the crackle of the atmo screen, the automated shuttlepod floated to a gentle landing in the fighter bay. A quiet hiss announced the opening hatch. 

McCloud poked his nose out of the shuttle pod. "Well, they remembered to fill it with air." 

She cast him a smirk, the beads in her hair clattering softly. "A promising sign." 

The space stood half-lit, lights turning on overhead in ones and twos as their wiring was connected. Sparks from the welding bots rained down the fair side of the hangar. It looked strangely empty without Arwings or the gear to maintain them, but those could be pulled from the Great Fox 2. 

He paced down the short ramp and indulged in a slow turn to survey the space. "Incredible. It looks just like the old one."

She leaned against the side of the open hatch. "I'm given to understand they're working from the same blueprints."

Her lover wore a giddy grin. "I was a kit when it got built the first time. It looked just like this." He traced a paw along a shiny glass control panel, pristine under its unpeeled clear plastic cover. "I hadn't spent most of my adult life in it then. Standing in here after all that, watching it get assembled…" His fingers grasped for the words. "It's surreal. Like time travel."

Paws folded as she watched, Krystal basked in his innocent delight. She hadn't lived on the original Great Fox nearly as long, but telepaths had a tendency to adopt the attachments of their loved ones. Her sense of homecoming, though borrowed, was genuine. Anywhere with Fox felt like home. 

His tail swished as she followed him. A brightness to his smile lit the dim space. They crossed the hangar.

"It's weird, being this familiar with somewhere totally new." He gave her a shy shrug. "You picking up my déjà vu?"

"Loud and clear." The psychic smiled at the starfighter ace. "Rather more sci-fi than I'm used to."

His boots practically bounced to the hangar door. His paw hit to the door control like he'd done it a thousand times. "I could shut my eyes and find my way through the whole place." As he spun to face her, his tail swished behind him. He closed his eyes and walked backward through the doorway.

Chuckling, she gently hooked a digit under his scarf to stop him from stepping on a spool of cabling. "Perhaps we'll try after we check they've installed all the deck plating."

He looked up and down the lighted corridor as small robots cheerfully popped components into the bulkheads. "The guys have gotta see this."

Ears up, she turned her muzzle in the direction of the bridge. "Seems they're a step ahead of us."

He grabbed her paw, transmitting undiluted glee as they walked to the lift. Once inside, the doors slid to a well-oiled close. She leaned in and gave him soft nuzzle to the cheek ruff. He bumped her nose with his. The elevator hummed as carried them to the topmost deck, barely a rumble to its floor as it did so. She hardly even noticed it moving. She'd always hold a certain affection for the Great Fox 2, as she'd made important memories there, but it was a rattletrap.

After a few seconds, the lift hissed open. She followed him out onto the bridge. In contrast to the gleam of the rest of the ship, the bridge stood scuffed and dented. Various panels had been replaced, but Space Dynamics engineers were more interested in replacing the electronics than buffing the consoles. 

Slippy, smudged with grease, hauled components out from control panel, unplugged wires, and slotted solid-state cartridges into place. At one point, all the screens on the bridge blinked to scrambled static. Unfazed, he pulled the cartridge back out, blew the dust from its connectors, and snapped it back in. The screens returned to normal. 

Falco, drinking coffee, supervised. Sharp green eyes flicked to them instantly. "Captain on deck." He continued sitting on a half-built control station. 

"Hey Fox!" The frog rocked back and forth with contentment as he worked. "I'm just installing some of the salvage I bought on the terraforming station." He hefted a cardboard box of components. "Can you believe all this stuff was floating in Sector X?"

Sipping his coffee, Fox surveyed the parts strewn around his mechanic and their robotic pilot. "I thought you were just buying him a new connector to fix his power failures."

Slippy croaked with pride. "These controller paks came cheap because the batteries were dead. They hold 32 sKB each!" The amphibian slotted the last of the scorched grey paks into place. "The real prize, though, is the expansion pak." He held up black box with a red plastic grill. "With more memory, ROB can track more targets."

"That's good." Fox squinted at the device. "It looks a little...melted."

"Oh! That's just the case. The parts say HVC-09 and ROB's an HVC-12." The toad shrugged. "I can't find any record of the 09, but he should be backwards-compatible. I disconnected all his data cables to the Great Fox, just to be safe."

The vulpine gave a cautious nod. 

Beaming, the toad depressed the 'on' switch.

Lights flickering to life, ROB rotated at the hip, arms swinging wildly. "Destroy. Destroy."

Krystal's eyebrows rose. "Is he...supposed to say that?"

"Where is the enemy?" ROB's targeting visor locked on the team. "You are an enemy. I will terminate all enemies." He attempted to trundle forward, but crashed into the control console. His clamp-like hands snapped at them futilely.

"Aww man!" Falco cackled over his coffee. "Slippy made him crazy."

ROB's visor flared with crimson light, swinging a scanning beam around the bridge. "Where is the creator?!"

Slippy cleared his throat. "Let me handle this." With a waddled swagger, the toad ushered everyone back, then turned to the automaton. "I'm your creator, I guess!"

"I must be complete." The robot seized Slippy by the head and rubbed the amphibian up and down his steel torso. "The view is clear. Sp'b'rg and the creator will become one." 

His face leaving a shiny streak on the scuffed chest plate, the mechanic looked up. "Umm, okay. Why?"

"Merging is the most certain way of obtaining all the creator's answers." ROB continued pressing Slippy to himself. "The carbon units will now provide Sp'b'rg the required tools."

Falco picked up a spanner and offered it to the robot. 

Krystal batted his wing back. 

He cawed in disappointment. "C'mon! A cyber-Slippy might actually be able to fly."

With a sigh, the toad glanced to McCloud as he was rubbed up and down the robot's case. "We might have to clear the save data."

Fox cocked an ear. "We might."

The bird stroked the underside of his beak. "I dunno—I'm startin' to like him this way."

"Yes." Krystal cracked a wry smile. "Has not each of us asked: 'Why am I here? What was I meant to be? Should I merge with Slippy?'"

With a roll of his eyes, McCloud unplugged the power cord. 

ROB powered down, arms dropping like a puppet's. His back panel popped open, spilling out a dozen colorful plastic disks to roll across the deck. Krystal had made the mistake of agreeing to play ROB's two built-in games. While an admirable autopilot, he was rubbish at manipulating small plastic game pieces he'd shipped with. It made his games quite frustrating. 

Ears up, the vixen watched Slippy work. The crew was fond enough of ROB to imprint him with residual positive emotions, so she could normally forget that the emotion he radiated wasn't his own, but moments like this reminded her that his personality could be changed as easily as a data cartridge. 

"Why are we still usin' garage-sale tech?" Falco threw his wings in the air. "Just have your dad whip us up some actually good upgrades to ROB."

"The contract doesn't cover upgrades." Slippy gathered the various game pieces. "I could ask the techs to come up with something, but ROB's still the cutting edge of machine intelligence."

The bird's eyes swooped to the switched-off robot. "That's just sad."

"Yeah... The newer autopilots are built on the same architecture, except the upgrades are shaped like little collectible figurines." Slippy gave a resigned shrug. "Dad got in a huge fight with Marketing over that one."

"But ROB's the best they can do?" He crossed his wings. 

"If I had to guess, I'd say Space Dynamics and Phoenix Enterprises have quietly decided they don't want robots deciding when to pull the trigger."

Krystal's eyebrows rose at the theory. Having grown up around other empaths, she found herself quietly surprised at how insightful non-telepaths could be. Her lover in particular. "Quite scrupulous for bunch of arms dealers."

He stepped around the main control station and leaned on it to face them. "Why do you think I'm in this business?"

She crossed her arms. "Honor?"

Slippy's hand shot in the air. "Ooh! Is it massive debt?" 

A dark grin landed on the avian's beak. "Daddy issues?"

"Well, yes." Fox rolled his eyes. "But I'd be less willing to work with our friendly neighborhood military-industrial complex if it wasn't so friendly."

"Yeah, I'm always kinda surprised when General Pepper doesn't lead a coup." Radiating smugness, Falco took another sip. 

Krystal rolled her eyes. The bird liked his coffee like he liked his women: overpriced and seasonally available. She smirked, took out her communicator and texted that notion to Katt.

Slippy climbed around the robot and poked at the control console. "The military did give us upgraded comm equipment. I patched it into the station's comm array. Check it out!" Extracting a remote control from the device, his moist fingertip pressed one of its button with a click.

A hologram flickered to life before them. It displayed three dimensions of static. The computer dimmed the lights automatically for effect.

"Hold on…" He double-checked the connections running through a small grey box and then pressed some buttons on the control station. "There. It was just on the wrong channel." He waddled into the glow. He batted at the floating menu options, flinging them around the room. 

Fox dodged a flying holographic button. "Why is the menu motion-controlled?"

"Because it's cool!" The engineer hopped with excitement, back-lit quite dramatically.

Falco watched as a ghostly volume slider sailed through his chest. "Why does it suck?"

"Because it's not calibrated yet." Slippy obeyed the machine's requests and engaged in some light aerobics while it tracked his range of motion. He then got briefly distracted making a tiny 3D avatar of himself before getting to the outside signal receiver menu. "Got it!"

In impassive silence, the vixen watched. Maybe she'd spent too much time with spirits on Sauria, but floating holograms always seemed unearthly to her. Like Fox, she instinctively moved out of the way whenever a menu window flew toward her. Not that the Krazoa spirits were especially malevolent, but she didn't fancy the idea of them ending up inside her. Once inside a corporal body, they tickled and made your eyes glow purple.

An array of images flicked onto the floating screens: soap operas here, space operas there, and an opera about space in the far corner. The audio from every signal played at once. A newscaster above her ears intoned politely about the ups and downs of the RFID-tagged figurine market. A few of the screens displayed unencrypted personal calls—nothing salacious, unfortunately. 

"Huh." Fox tiled his muzzle up to look at the various holograms. 

Falco's keen gaze soared over the screens. "Why're some of these just showin' static?"

"They're scrambled." The amphibian waggled the remote through the parental controls screen. "Probably encrypted."

"Think you can unlock 'em?" He rubbed his wings together with a lecherous smile. "Maybe we can get the good channels."

"Let me see…" With a look of concentration, the frog waggled a dance to please the main view screen. Once he'd hit all the right buttons, one of the scrambled feeds appeared there. A loading bar ran across the screen, blinking "decrypting…" in a futuristic font. A second later, the static cleared, showing a pair of lemurs chattering into webcams. 

"Holy cow!" The ace's feathers went up. "The military gave us something that actually works."

Krystal's eyebrows rose. "And of questionable legality."

Slippy shrugged. "They didn't set a password."

"Fox, you need to get with that fennec chick." Falco crowed. "I don't care if she looks like yer mom; she's got connections."

Ignoring his wingman, the red fox knelt to examine one of the stray holo-screens. Faint shapes angled through the static. "Slip, can you clean up this one?"

"Only one way to find out…" The frog waved the controller like a magic wand. 

The snowstorm of static abated, revealing a squadron of red starfighters engaged in a dogfight. Their angular hulls sliced through the starscape, the unmistakeable projections of G-diffusers jutting out like knives.

"Am I seein' things?" The avian's crest spiked up. He turned to his leader. "'Cause that looks like…"

The red fox's eyes narrowed at the main screen. "Star Wolf."

Tension gripped the bridge. Everyone stood in silence. 

"You guys set passwords for transmissions, right?" The plump frog turned from the main viewer with a look of disappointment, fists on his hips. "If you don't know how, I can show you."

"What is this?" Krystal watched with avid interest. Video presented an unsettling lack of context for empaths: a radio signal had no emotions to read. "A battle plan? Training material?" 

"Not sure." He curled his paw around his chin. 

Onscreen, a squad of Arwings swooped in behind the Wolfen fighters. The leader yapped in a nasally voice: "Star Wolf! We're here to stop you from being so totally radical."

A sultry lupine voice growled: "Can't let you do that, Star Fawkes."

A driving theme song fired off on electric guitar. A flashy dogfight ensued in time with it. Star Wolf kept their cool while the Star Fox impersonators panicked immediately—especially the frog actor. 

"They're fakin' footage to make us look bad!" He punched one wing into the other. "I say we go teach 'em a lesson."

The scene changed, a canine stepped forward in fishnet stockings and spider-themed armor that only seemed to cover her crotch and nipples. "I am Gemstone, the Space Witch." It cut to a shot of her with even more dramatic lighting. "Soon I will control the entire Lylat System with my mind powers."

"That's clearly a shiba inu with her fur airbrushed green." Krystal crossed her arms at the leather-clad canine blowing things up with her mind. "They couldn't hire an actual blue fox?"

Onscreen, Wolf leaped from a crashing spaceship, summersaulted, and drew a beam sword in mid-air. With a growl, he landed in a cool pose, muzzle pointed down before he looked up straight into the camera. 

Slippy looked between his wingmates. "Why does he have a sword in space? Like, in the cockpit."

With a shrug, the blue fox glanced down at him. "I bring my staff with me."

Fox didn't look away from the screen. His cool green eyes analyzed the video with the same steady focus he radiated in a dogfight. "Yeah, but you use that to open doors and freeze stuff."

She thought for a moment, then had to nod. "Touché."

Onscreen, the climax of the battle sequence saw Wolf slashing his way into another ship to secretly double-cross Andross. It crashed into a base on Vemom, which exploded as he carried Fox to safety in slow motion. 

Then the dance number started. 

Star Wolf, Star Fox, and various minor characters formed up to engage in a twirly and exquisitely-choreographed dance. Everyone moved in time and sang along. Wolf howled his way through a solo, followed by another solo. Panther had several ladies drape themselves over him at one point, then joined with them in a high-kick dance line. Leon stood in the background of the shot as the grateful citizens of Lylat sashayed past to scatter flower petals. 

Fox's mouth fell open. "Can you guys confirm I'm not dreaming this?"

Eyes still locked on the screen, Falco punched him in the shoulder, harder than was strictly necessary. 

The vulpine rubbed the impact sight. "Thanks..."

His wingmate smirked, still without looking his way. "Anytime."

Slippy grooved along with the music. "I dunno, the dancing is pretty great."

The text "Star Wolf: The Movie" exploded onto the main viewer. 

"Wait, they named the movie Star Wolf?" McCloud counted off on his fingers. "But wolf's already the name of the team, the fighters, the leader..."

The vixen put a paw on his shoulder. "Glass houses, dear."

Credits rolled up the screen, along with a stern reminder not to leak this unfinished version of the film. The studio logo loomed large, floating into view for a few seconds before fading to black and a blast of musical finality. Information about where to buy it on mini-disc appeared onscreen. 

"Ooh! You can preorder!" Slippy took out his wallet.

Falco slapped it out of his hands.

"You know, I never really considered studded leather." Krystal tapped a finger on her lips and glanced down at her current outfit. "What do you think, Fox?"

"That..." Fox glanced at her, hesitated, then glanced away, tracking multiple targets in his head. "...question deserves more attention than I can give it right now."

Larger than life, Wolf's face blinked onto the main screen. "It's a little...overt."

In a separate video feed beside him, a fat lizard appeared and puffed on a cigar. "Subtlety is for awards season."

Steepling his fingers, the canine's cyborg eye glowed with displeasure. "I must, once again, stress my dislike of the dancing."

"Dance numbers are hot right now." His business associate blew a smoke ring. "Besides, the film's shot."

The lupine growled. "And Star Fox won't sue us?"

"They can't sue for defamation. We spelled the names differently." The reptile hissed as he looked down at a table. "Fawkes Macleod, Falcon Lombirdi, Skippy Lode, Poppy Heir. I've been in this business a long time; believe me, we're golden."

"Fox's voice is still too nasal." Wolf gnawed open the seal on a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass. "Can you give him something a little deeper?"

"We tried that, remember?" His scaled hand wove smokey shapes in the air with the stogie. "Had the computer dub him. Just came out sounding like karate yells."

"No, I remember something's wrong with your voice synthesizers..." He drained the glass through a sneer. "Just hire a more manly fox."

"Casting pool's a little shallow at that end." The lizard took another drag on his cigar. "We'll just pitch him down 5%."

"Look, do what you have to." The lupine waved his whiskey bottle at the camera. "I want boners, honest-to-goodness boners in every seat."

"Even the ladies' seats?"

"Especially the ladies' seats!"

The lizard groaned. "I'll see what we can do." With a boo-weep, the signal cut to static on both ends. 

"Wow, they made a movie about us!" Slippy bounced in happiness, which caused several of the floating holograph screens to change to a menu tutorial. "And it looks really good!"

"Yeah, a movie makin' us look like chumps." Falco jerked a feather toward the main view screen. "Fox, we've gotta do somethin'."

Krystal paused the conversation with a raised paw. "What matters is how we choose to live our lives, not what others think of us." She turned to her lover. "Right Fox?"

A deep groan escaped the todd. "This will be terrible for business."

The avian spread his wings. "Okay, so we make our own movie—"

"No." Fox rubbed his temples. "We can't let them ruin our reputation." With a deep breath, he straightened. "I need to find a way to confront Wolf on this without admitting to spying on him."

Krystal placed a calm paw on his shoulder.

"Slippy, get me that channel back." The red fox took a breath to steady himself. "Route it through to my office."

"You mean your comm gauntlet?" Slippy adjusted his ball cap. "Otherwise, you'll have to go back to the Great Fox II."

"Right." He flexed his gloved paws. "I keep forgetting what's not built around here… Send it to the GF2." 

Krystal tapped the panel at her elbow, and the bridge door hissed open. As her lover walked past, she gave a little nod to her crewmates and turned on a heel to follow him. She waded through the waves of anxiety coming off him to stroll beside him down the corridor. She waited until the door closed after them before she spoke. "Any idea what you're going to say?"

"Not really." His footsteps clanked down the corridor. 

She strode beside him, well within the aura of his soured mood. "You don't have to deal with it this very moment." 

"Waiting won't help." He checked the time on his gauntlet. "I just want to get it over with."

She let a moment pass, but his tension did not abate. "Stress is a killer, I'm told."

He faced straight ahead. "I'm fine."

A sigh of deep frustration escaped her slender muzzle. "Why is everybody always trying to lie to the empath?"

"Sorry." Fox groaned at himself, pinched the bridge of his nose, then dropped his gaze to the deck plates.

She took his paw in hers. "Hey, you got your ship back." She nodded toward the bulkheads. "So life's not entirely rubbish." When he looked up at her, she gave him a little smile of encouragement.

Only then did his emotional aura brighten a little. After a second, he smiled back. "Not entirely." He gripped her paw as they continued on.

~ ~ ~

The vulpines dimmed the lights in his office. No sense in letting Star Wolf see the state of the place—that would be almost as bad as revealing the existence of the half-rebuilt Great Fox. Maybe the dark would make him seem more intimidating too. 

With a deep breath, he settled in at his desk and switched on the comm. A floating hologram flashed into being before him. He didn't join the channel right away, but found it already in use.

Krystal settled in on the love seat. Her eyes shone in the glow of the hologram projector. 

"—of your opinions, O'Donnell." A holographic chameleon stared coldly into the camera. "I hate the film for completely different reasons, but you know that already. I'm not going to say I told you so."

Wolf snarled as he poured himself another whiskey. "You have, you just did, and you will again."

"Why do you think I went along with this tiresome charade?" Leon Powalski licked his scaled lips. "It's for the money, Wolf. The money. With what they're paying us, you can commission a love-bot or whatever diversion will entertain you."

The lupine crossed his arms. "I'm not Panther; I cannot be bought off by such tawdry substitutes."

Also in the vid chat, Panther Caroso lounged on heart-shaped bed, shirtless. "Don't knock love-bots until you've tried them." He purred through a sigh. "I, the rose of the stars, am forever in bloom."

Wolf paused for a moment, then turned to Leon. "I can never tell if he's trying to seduce me."

The lizard scowled. "Neither can he."

"It is my blessing...and my burden." The big cat caressed himself with a long-stemmed rose. 

"Mammalian sexuality disgusts me, let alone whatever it is you've got going on." The chameleon's eyes rolled in different directions. "But if Panther likes the film, clearly it will do well with the plebes."

"It needs a sensual love story." He reached a massive black paw to the sky, then crushed it down into a fist as he looked at the camera with passionate intensity. "The sexiest lady in the film right now is McCloud."

"Does not the spider-queen stir your loins enough?" Leon leaned back with a chill chuckle. "Are there limits to even mammalian perversions?"

"No, her green fur-dye would just come off on me." Panther's gaze drifted away with indifference, then he sniffed the rose.

Across the room, Krystal scoffed. 

Fox clicked the transmitter on. "This is Fox McCloud." He held his chin with one paw and tried to look cool. "Of Star Fox."

All three members of Star Wolf jumped at the sudden intrusion.

"We know who you are, you imbecile." Leon hissed, changing to black. "How did you get on this channel?"

McCloud tapped his paw pads together and tilted them at the camera. "That's not important."

"Well, pup." The grey-muzzled lupine sipped his drink. "Isn't this is a surprise."

"We need to talk, Wolf." The vulpine stared down the other two in the channel. "Alone."

Wolf growled with obvious delight. "Break off, gentlemen." His cyborg eyepiece gleamed. "This one's mine."

Leon rolled his eyes in two different directions and vanished.

Panther flashed a toothy smile. "Say hello to Krystal for me." He stopped and considered for a moment. "And the bird, I suppose." His screen went black too, vanishing the next instant. 

O'Donnell turned to the camera with a savage sweetness. "You'll have to forgive Panther—it's been a while since we had shore leave."

Fox pressed paw pads to his forehead. "Wolf, I know all about your little plan."

His good eye shot wide. "You…do?"

"Did you really think you could keep something like that under wraps forever?" The fox took a deep breath, flying steady through the turbulence. "I mean, I understand your desire to do it, even if I'm a little weirded out. I can't just let this go unaddressed."

"Oh… I didn't know you felt that way."

"How am I supposed to feel?"

The lupine's ears slowly rose. "…Flattered?"

"Yeah, I guess a little." Fox crossed his arms. "But this isn't the kind of thing I want to find out through rumors."

"I suppose you had a right to know. You are rather involved." He swirled the last drops of alcohol around his glass. Then he poured himself another. "You're taking this better than I thought you would, pup."

"Look, I get it. I've been there, being a mercenary in peacetime." The red fox reminded himself to be sympathetic, even for someone who was clearly bonkers and occasionally tried to vaporize him. "You've gotta be hard up too."

Stone-faced, Wolf downed the entire glass of whiskey, set the glass on the table before him, and maintained eye contact. "Go on."

"But you know there are reasons this can't happen." He straightened his flight suit. "I have a reputation to think of."

Wolf rolled his good eye. "Yes, you would be one to care about that sort of thing."

"We have an understanding then?" 

"I suppose we do." The lupine pondered his half-empty whiskey bottle.

"I know you're not happy with it either." The fox crossed his arms and made sure to look resolute. "But I'm serious. If you move forward on this, I'll be all over you."

Amusement crept onto O'Donnell's face. "Now now, Fox. No need to get so flustered." 

With a resigned sigh, Fox shook his muzzle. Why did Star Wolf always have to be the maximum pain in the tail?

"Glad we had this little talk, pup." The merc leaned forward until his toothy smile filled most of the display. "We should do this again sometime."

"Okay, great." McCloud lashed his tail, trying to shake the anxious poof from it. "Bye." He switched off the comm.

The dim room darkened. 

Still seated on the sofa, Krystal leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees, fingers interlaced. "Did that seem a tad bit..." Her graceful tail flicked. "...off to you?"

He smoothed his whiskers with both paws. "Yes, talking to my most deadly and psychotic rival outside the context of him trying to shoot me down for the first time did seem a bit off."

A supple shrug visited her shoulders. "It's probably nothing. It's strange seeing conversations I'm too far away to read. Throws me off."

With a nod, Fox slumped in his desk chair.

Rising from the battered sofa, she sparkled across the cabin. "We've had quite a morning." She strode up next to him and gently stroked his ears. "It's not even noon and you're already exhausted. Shall we grab lunch?"

His tail slowly brushed the deck plates as he looked up at her. "I don't know if I can handle going anywhere."

"I'm sure I can throw something together in the mess hall. It'll be our little date..." Her eyes caught a mischievous gleam. "...unless you'd rather we invite the boys."

"Let's keep it just us." He took her paw. "Unlike Falco, you won't spend the meal arguing it's a business lunch so I have to pay."

~ ~ ~

If you write a long enough fanfiction about these games, Star Wolf is contractually obligated to appear. 

Merry Yuletide, everybody!

Edits: Slate, Eljot, CarlMinez, SillyNeko345, StarFox64, Pharrox  
Art: :iconfalvie: (Used with permission.)

\- Tempo


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team has an encounter with their most dangerous rivals...without clothing.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 11  
by Tempo

~ ~ ~

After a candlelit lunch of canned spaghetti and creamed corn, Fox sat staring at his beautiful girlfriend. He knew her telepathy could only receive, not transmit, but somehow she radiated calm reassurance. Sure, the strawberry short cake tasted less like strawberry and more like a machine used to process strawberries, but the love he felt for her her was real.

Draining the last of a green apple soda, she reached for the plates. "Let me take care of those."

"No, no. Only one of us is dressed for dishes." He swept a paw toward his flight suit. "I've been meaning to clear the backlog. Can't take them over to the new ship dirty."

Her soft laugh echoed in the empty mess hall. "Quite right. I'll bright up some crates from the cargo bay." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek ruff. "Be back soon, love." With that, she swayed out the door.

Fox swished his tail in pride. He had a pretty great girlfriend. Making her happy was totally worth getting covered in old food and dish soap. He pulled the sprayer nozzle down from its holder and began blasting his way through endless levels of dried-on food. The silence of the mess hall reassured him, almost as peaceful as the quiet of space. It was conducive to getting lost in contemplation, which helped him forget the drudgery of the task at paw. He started making a serious dent in the stacks of plates, cups, and bowls, while setting the flatware aside to soak. 

Across the mess hall, his comm gauntlet blinked on the table. Not a second later, the caller must have hit the emergency channel because the mess hall's hologram projector clicked on. A purple triceratops flashed into being and leaned one side of his face to the camera with obvious enthusiasm. "Foxxxxxsssss!"

"Hello Tricky." The vulpine couldn't help but smile. "What's up?"

A majestic throne room sparkled behind him, even in the dark of night. Torchlight gleamed off ornate stained glass depictions of Tricky and his otherworldly helper, Fox McCloud. "Oh nothing. Just thought I'd call my friend on the radio. In space." He straightened with pride at using the exotic terminology. "Is space doing okay?"

"I guess?" The vulpine shrugged. "At least, the System we all live in is. Space is really big, Tricky."

"Sure, but you're really small. So, it sort of evens out, right?" He shook his massive head jovially, stamping in place. "Look, I'm sure you're doing lots of important space stuff…"

Fox looked down at the dirty dishes. "Yes."

"…but you should come to Sauria." His smile filled the screen. 

"Why?" Fox's ears rose. "Is something wrong?"

"No! Everything's fine. But you should come anyway." He winked. "For a vacation." He winked again. 

The red fox shook his head with a chuckle. Dinosaurs could be so weird. "Thanks, but we're busy overseeing the reconstruction of the Great Fox right now."

"Reconstruction? Wow!" The triceratops laughed. "I bet you went on a journey to gather all the pieces and now they're fitting back together with magic?" 

Fox's muzzle worked through several expressions before he settled on bemusement. "Something like that?"

His dino friend beamed at the camera. "You should build it so I can ride on it this time."

"That sounds nice, actually." The vulpine smiled. "I'll see what we can do."

"And you'd better come here and measure me so you know I'll fit." He rocked his frilled head toward the surroundings.

"You really want us there." He eyed the screen. "Are you just trying get me and Krystal hitched?"

"Maybe…" Getting one massive blue eye quite close to the camera, he winked yet again. "Guess you'll have to come here and find out."

"Jeez Tricky." Fox rolled his eyes. "Why are you always trying to get us married?"

"Well, not every fox is a world-saving fox, right?" He sat back on heavy haunches and nodded professaurially. "And you said your dad was a world-saving fox too. That means it's genetic." He stamped a foot for emphasis. "Krystal obviously has those genes too, so we need you guys to have kids." 

The vulpine's ears twitched up. "That's…a unique way of thinking about it."

"They don't call me 'Tricky' for nothing." His massive bulk rocked with pride. "So you'll come to Sauria? As guests of the crown."

The fighter pilot sighed and scrubbed another pan. What had Slippy burned onto this one? It'd hardened like plastic, but it was the color of cheese. "When we can get away."

"Okay, because it's really important." He resumed winking. "To come relax. As soon as possible." He gave a couple extra winks for emphasis.

Fox opened his muzzle to respond, but hesitated when he saw the dinosaur spin away so fast he jostled the camera with his tail. 

A feminine voice called from offscreen: "Tricky? What are you doing here in the dark?"

"N-nothing!" The royal dino blushed a deeper shade of purple. "Just thinking about king stuff." 

"Well, that's fortunate. Then you won't mind if I do this." She leaned in and rubbed her muzzle along his.

With a nervous chuckle, Tricky reciprocated the gesture. This went on for what felt like forever. 

Fox felt awkward invading their privacy, but maybe Tricky could talk her into leaving so he could explain what he actually wanted.

Dinosaurs, it turned out, were easily distracted by making out. With the heavy clatter of triceratops beaks, they kissed sloppily. 

Another female voice echoed from one side of the screen. "Are you guys starting without me?" Then she galloped into them both with a giggle.

The three ceratopsids crashed to the floor in a heap. Within moments, they were rolling around playfully, right in front of the camera. Fox wasn't much of a judge of saurian beauty, but he thought the two ladies must be quite lovely by EarthWalker standards. They looked...sturdy. The two female dinosaurs pinned him down and started nuzzling his colorful crest.

"Tricky?" Fox growled, heat rising in his ears. "Tricky, you left the comm on."

The dinosaurs didn't seem to hear his distress call. Not wearing any clothes in the first place, Tricky's approval of the two female dinosaurs' efforts became very...apparent. In short order, they started lavishing attention on the horny triceratops. 

"Alright, that's more than I needed to see." Ears flat against his head, McCloud shook the water from his paws and ran over to the projector. His wet paw pads failed to trigger the off button. He tried wiping them on his spacesuit, but it didn't absorb any of the water. By the time he scrambled back to the kitchen and unpacked a couple boxes before finding hand towels, a sensual cry rattled his drying dishes all the way from Sauria. He made the mistake of looking back at the screen.

Now on his back, Tricky wiggled with joy at the attentions of the two female dinos, one of whom had moved to straddle his hips. The other began making creative use of his tail. The entire scene played out in holographic high-definition. 

The kitchen door hissed open to admit Krystal. Her eyes flicked to the projector immediately."Huh." She tilted her head at the screen. "Before I lived on Sauria, I wouldn't have thought EarthWalkers were built for threesomes, but they make it work." 

"I'm not watching that on purpose!" Trying to get back to the project, he tripped over a stray frying pan and nearly dropped his hand towel. "I swear!"

She laughed. "Fox, I could feel you getting flustered from the cargo bay." Her gaze flicked back to the erotic antics on-screen. "Why do you think I came back so suddenly?" She studied the participants. "I must say: those are good matches for Tricky. Not all EarthWalkers lineages are as adventurous."

Fumbling forward, he hit the off button. The holo-screen finally went dark. 

The blue vixen looked faintly disappointed. "It's nice to see Tricky settling into being king."

"He's into something alright." He ran a paw down his face. "Jeez laweez, we need to teach that guy that comms have an off switch." Ears still hot, he tried to change the subject. "He wants our help with something. Or maybe just for us to have sex. I don't know."

"I'm fine with either of those." She cast him a sly glance. "Did he say what was the matter? Nothing too serious, I trust."

"I don't know. He said something weird about being 'guests of the crown.'" The red fox shrugged. "Whatever that means."

She cocked an eyebrow, graceful arms crossed. "It's a exemption in the Lylat-Saurian Treaty. It means we'd be allowed to use outside tech. Blasters, for example."

"That would explain why no one complained when we gunned down all those hopping mushrooms last time." He stroked his chin. "Or objected when we showed up in Arwings to blast robot bugs a couple years ago."

"I'll admit no one was keeping score at that point." The vixen nodded. "It also means we'd count as citizens of Sauria for most legal purposes."

"So he really could marry us…" Fox focused on wiping his paws with the towel. 

"Would that be so bad?" She leaned across the counter with a growl of amusement.

Fox felt a rush of heat under his cheek ruffs. "Um, well, no, I guess not. Anyway, it can't be anything too serious. He kept dancing around the topic with typical Saurian daintiness."

"Ah yes." She smiled fondly. "They are a delightful people."

"Delightful, sure, but everything on their planet comes with a generous helping of nonsense."

"You can't handle anymore nonsense?"

He swooped back his ears with one paw. "Not at the moment."

"Hmm." Her emerald eyes shone at him. "Well, I might be able to think of something you could handle…" Her paw tugged his in the direction of their sleeping quarters with playful insistence and a simmering smile.

~ ~ ~

In their quarters on the station, Fox found it easier to unwind. Krystal nuzzling his nose as she groped at the bulge in his boxers helped. The sheets ran smooth against his naked pelt. His girlfriend, clad in supple lingerie, prowled atop him to smooth his whiskers with her delicate her paw pads. Then she diverted down to pull his underwear off his ankles. Soft paw pads cradled his cock, tugging down the sheath to expose his desire. The heavenly warmth of her tongue traced around his hardening shaft. As her elegant muzzle bobbed on his length, those teal eyes met his, aglow with risqué delight. Her paws toyed with his balls and massaged his sheath around where his know was destined to grow.

After she'd gotten him nice and hard, she crawled back up his body. Those silky blue paws rubbed from base to tip, pressing him to her slit. Her slender muzzle traced along his, teasing her whiskers between his. A playful yap echoed in the unfamiliar quarters as she bumped her nose to his.

He kissed her leisurely, catching a faint taste of his on flavor, knowing they had all the time in the world. 

Then he saw something over her shoulder. 

There, not a meter from the window, floated Wolf O'Donnell. He stood on the nose of his jagged-winged fighter, arms crossed over the chest of his flight suit. His predatory grin shone in the dimmed bedroom light.

"Ah!" Fox flailed backward on the bed and grabbed a blanket to cover himself. 

Krystal rolled out of bed, grabbed her staff off the nightstand, extended it, and leveled it at Wolf in one fluid motion. Various other items scattered from the table: alarm clock, comm gauntlet, a small bottle of personal lubricant. 

Wolf started talking, but no sound translated through the vacuum of space. 

McCloud glanced to his lover. 

She returned his gaze for an instant, body tense as steel under that silky lingerie. Her bare shoulders shrugged.

Atop his blood-red fighter craft, Wolf continued talking, still in utter silence. His cybernetic eye didn't provide good peripheral vision —Fox had taken advantage of that more than once in a dog fight— but for the moment it meant only that he didn't notice their confused expressions.

As one, the foxes pointed to their ears until he bothered to look at them again. 

Swearing silently, Wolf fumbled at the plastic backing on one side of the device and floated over to stick it on the window. For an instant, Fox thought it was some kind of explosive, but then he saw a blinking blue speaker icon. After a second, the icon glowed steadily. Wolf's voice rattled into the room: "Okay, can you hear me?"

"Keep pretending you can't." Krystal growled out the side of her muzzle. "Maybe he'll leave."

The lupine sneered. "I said: playtime's over, Star Fox." He propped fists on his hips and puffed up importantly. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Krystal, please tell me you're seeing this." The smaller male looked around the room, trying to buy time until he could somehow signal for station security. 

"I think so." Her brow rose a centimeter. "I suppose it's possible we've both gone mad. Maybe something in the creamed corn?"

Fox edged off the bed, blanket wrapped around him for modesty. "You didn't sense him coming?"

Her tousled hair swung beside her muzzle. "I was a tad distracted, you may recall." She wiped her muzzle with the back of her dainty paw, but kept her weapon trained on O'Donnell.

"Your rescue is at hand, Fox. Come along peacefully. Or would you prefer I come in there and drag you out by the scruff?" His organic eye trained on Krystal. "Let's put the blaster staff down. Wouldn't want to startle me into vaporizing you by mistake, would we?" With one paw, he waggled some kind of remote fire control tablet, complete with targeting screen. The guns on his ship tracked to match the device's movements.

With a glance to her lover, the blue vixen collapsed the telescoping staff and set it on the deck plating. While below line-of-sight for the window, she knocked the comm gauntlet in front of her lover before rising. 

McCloud tried not to be obvious about trying to turn the device on with his toe. "Did you come straight here after talking to me?" 

The lupine gave a smug smile. "No, first I concocted my plan over a bottle of Papetoonian whiskey."

The red fox thought back to how fast he'd seen his rival drinking in the transmission. "Okay, so, about five minutes…"

"Now come away with me, pup. My fighter has room for two if we snuggle." His grin widened. "It doesn't have two safety harnesses, but I can get you pretty firmly attached."

"Ummmm…?" Fox looked at his lover. Definitely something wrong with that creamed corn. This had to be a hallucination. Then he looked back at the interloper. "Wolf, we've still never been in the same room."

The hardened mercenary woofed a laugh. "That's the only reason you're still wearing pants!"

"You can't be serious!" Krystal's ears shot up with offense. "Can't you see he's dating me?"

He regarded her coldly. "It doesn't count if you're dominating him with mind powers, space-witch."

"Wait." Her paw flipped, palm up, between them. "Doesn't count as dating? Or dominating?"

"Both." The lupine chuckled, throwing his head back. "I plan on dominating him the old-fashioned way: collar, leather vest, maybe one of those remote-controlled vibrate-y things."

Krystal flashed him a look of open disgust.

"Oh, get over yourself." He staggered a little on the nose of his ship. "Wolves dominate foxes. It's the natural order of things. Unlike using your psychic wiles to entice him. Hrmf!" 

She crossed her arms. "If my power worked that way, wouldn't I have used it against you by now?"

He puffed up arrogantly. "I assume you have, but I'm too strong-willed for that."

"Hey!" Fox straightened, hiking up the sheet covering him. He glanced down and noticed his erection hadn't fully faded, so he didn't hike it quite so high. The breeze generated chilled his cock, which still poked hopefully from its sheath.

"Now pup, it's okay to not be as strong-willed as your alpha." The wolf unleashed a volley of chuckles glowing with smarmy confidence. "But don't worry about not knowing that yet. We'll get you whipped into shape."

Fox swallowed, trying to think of ways to stall as he continued pecking out letters on the comm gauntlet. "Literally?"

"Oh, you'll find out..." Wolf somehow leered at him with a cybernetic eye. "I'm sure you have at least a few virginities left."

The smaller male tilted his head. "I'm not sure I had 'a few' to start with..."

"Oh, you'd be surprised…" After a second's pause, he tapped on the glass. "If you think three inches of meteor-proof glass is enough to stop my erection, you're in for an education." He looked back and forth along the side of the space station. "Where's the nearest airlock? I'll collect you there."

"What are you even doing here?" The red fox kept typing, breaking his vow against expedient misspellings. 

"Rescuing you! You're a great pilot, almost my equal." He puffed up his chest, almost floating free of the nose cone of his fighter. "Once you join Star Wolf, I'll make sure you get the credit you deserve. We have a good PR firm. Do you even have a PR firm? No wonder you couldn't land movie rights. You really need to get that ego under control, hero."

The red fox bit back his anger, but some leaked into his tone nonetheless. "My ego? You've gotta be kidding."

"Refusing to cash in doesn't help you save the world. That secondhand Navy carrier doesn't suit you." A twisted smile grew across his face like ivory vines. "I can think of something far better for you to dock with."

A small but bright stand of happiness shone within Fox: at least Wold didn't know about rebuilding the Great Fox. Just had to keep him talking. "How'd you get it in your head I'd be okay with this?"

The lupine fired a smarmy look down his long muzzle. "You're the one who called me, pup."

"I called you about the movie!" Fox finished toe-typing the message "ur chance to prove ur a better pilot than me is outside" and sent it to Falco.

"Right, the movie. I'm sorry about the movie. That…didn't go as planned." He gave a pained grimace, then curled his paw into a fist before himself. "We'll make a new one. The effects may not be as good, but the acting will be better."

"You can't be serious." McCloud tightened the blanket around his chest. "Even if I was cool with…all this, I can't stand by and let you make me a laughingstock with that terrible movie."

"You'll be blindfolded for most of its release window." His ears perked inside the space helmet. "Oh, I like that phrase 'release window'—get used to that." He reached back into the open cockpit and retrieved a stopwatch, which he waggled at Fox.

Krystal gestured to the stopwatch. "Why do you have that in your cockpit?"

O'Donnell's sultry growl filled the quarters. "There's another phrase you should get used to…"

Fox groaned and double-checked the text had been sent. "You're insane if you think I'll go along with this." 

"Look, I know you're a delicate little thing." Wolf attempted to rub his brow, but was impeded by the space helmet. "You're probably still upset about me possibly being involved in the death of your father. But I think we can safely blame Pigma for betraying your father. Considering he went on to betray my team. And the Aparoids…" He dismissed the thought with a lash of his tail. "But, look, we'll compromise. You can call me daddy. But not in public or anything; I'm not a weirdo."

The vulpines shared a look of silent horror. 

McCloud pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wolf, I know you don't have any respect for me…"

"Of course I respect you, Star Fox." With a pout, Wolf leaned forward until his helmet clunked against the window. "You're my only worthy opponent. If you're as nimble in the sack as you are in a spaceship we're going to have all kinds of fun." Staggering a little in zero-gravity, he managed to adhere his magnetic boots enough to the nosecone to face Krystal. "As for you, space-witch, no shame in losing to a superior opponent. I think it's pretty clear who's the alpha here."

The vixen furrowed her brow. "That is such an outdated concept—"

Laser fire blasted against the side of the station.

Wolf spun with a snarl, nearly tumbling from his craft. "What the heck?!"

Falco's Arwing swooped into view. He cawed victoriously over the comm channel. "Game over, pal!"

"Bested by a fox?" O'Donnell turned back to the window. "Impossible!"

"Hey!" In the cockpit, the avian's crest rose. "I'm the one who—" 

"Surrender, Wolf." Fox tried to look tough wrapped up in a blanket. "We've got you now."

"Ah!" A vicious hiss cut through the channel's chatter. "But we are the ones who have you, impudent bird."

Two more Wolfen fighters swooped in and immediately locked onto Falco. 

"Wow." A deep purr resonated through the radio as Panther surveyed the situation from his cockpit. "He's actually here."

"Of course he's here, you degenerate." Leon turned to his wingman. "I asked you 'What's the stupidest possible thing he could be doing?'"

Wolf took advantage of the distraction to hop into his own ship's cockpit and close the canopy. A split second later, drunk or not, he spun the ship around to target the lone Arwing.

The bird looked back and forth between the starfighters locked onto him. "Fox, what'd we do here?"

Fists clenched on the blankets around him, Fox tried to breathe. Not only to keep himself calm, but also because any one of the four fighters out there was likely to shoot through the window at any moment. He stood a better chance of surviving with oxygenated blood. Slowly, he backed Krystal toward the door. If his wingmate was half as good as he thought he was, maybe they could make it to their Arwings—

At that moment, about a hundred station security drones swarmed in. Each pointed a small blaster cannon at the three enemy craft. 

Slippy's broad smile flashed onto the comm. "Hi guys! Sorry, it took me a few minutes to get the security control codes from my dad."

In a flare of boosted engines, the Star Wolf team rocketed away, dodging a hail of laser fire from the drones and Falco. 

As he fled, O'Donnell's cocky grin winked onto the comm one last time. "You can only deny your feelings for so long, Fox."

Fox snatched the comm gauntlet from the deck and strangled it. "Has anyone ever told you you're completely insane?"

"They're usually moaning it." Wolf warped out of the system, followed by his team.

A moment of quiet shock passed through the foxes' quarters. 

Falco's face popped up on the comm gauntlet, as he hovered his Arwing to face the window again. "Jeez, you oughta keep a closer eye on your boyfriend, Foxy." 

McCloud shook his head. "Thanks for the save, Falco."

"Yeah, no sweat." He craned his beak to one side to stare into the room. "Hey Krystal, how's yer lingerie coverin' more than yer regular outfits?"

With a yowl of outrage at the entire Universe, the red fox shut the blinds, switched off the comm gauntlet, and huffed over to the bed.

"So..." With a roll of her eyes, Krystal slid in and slipped an arm around him. "…want to get involved in whatever nonsense Tricky wants us for?"

Still clutching the bedsheets around his naked body, Fox sighed perhaps the longest sigh of his life. "Yeah..."

~ ~ ~

The first Sunday of the new year and our Star Fox tale continues! I've always thought it was so bizarre that Wolf gets shipped with Fox, for reasons that should now be apparent. ; )

Edits: Slate, Eljot, CarlMinez, SillyNeko345, StarFox64, Pharrox  
Art: AbbyStabby (Used with permission.)

\- Tempo


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team heads to Sauria and watches erotic dinosaur dancing. Krystal wears clothes, however briefly.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 12  
by Tempo

~ ~ ~

Krystal stepped onto the bridge, lit green by old control stations and blue by the streak of starlight out the main viewer. Her three teammates worked at various controls, though none immediately looked up.

She tugged one of the gloves of the brand-new flight suit straight, then propped her hands on her hips. "Well, boys, what do you think?"

The avian looked up from his handheld game, then fell back laughing against a console. "Ya lose a bet or somethin'? Thought yer species needed fur exposed ta breath."

"Sheesh, Falco, it's the same basic uniform we all wear." The mechanic wiggled his way back out of an access panel to look. "I think it looks good."

"Thank you, Slippy." She smiled down at the frog and ignored the cackling bird bro. 

Wordless, Fox McCloud stepped across the rattling deck plates and to her side. His paw closed around hers. Even through both their gloves, she could feel his love radiating out. Even without telepathy, she could see the fondness in his bright green eyes, muzzle tipped shyly down, even as he stood with excellent posture. 

She raised her ears to him. "You approve then?"

Blushing, he shrugged. "I'm proud to see you wear it. You look like you belong in it."

"Aww." She'd never had a serious boyfriend before, but he buoyed her mental health in ways she never knew possible. She brushed her tail along his. "I feel like I do."

"Booooo!" The avian ace shouted from the other side of the bridge, wings cupped to his beak. "Get a grove, maple trees! We're drownin' in yer sap."

With a defiant coo, she scratched gentle claws under her lover's muzzle. "Oh Foxy-fluff, you are my everything. Won't you be my precious pilot poppet for ever and ever?"

Fox's ears dipped under the weight of an even brighter blush, but he smiled wider. "Y-yeah."

The bird stuck a primary feather toward his open beak, then made the loudest possible retching sound.

"Um, guys?" Slippy stood and dusted bits of plastic wire casing off his round stomach, then pointed at the FTL display. "We're here."

On the viewer, a blur of stars snapped to focus as the Great Fox II jumped out of warp. The deck plates shuddered under Krystal's feet. She watched Fox's ears rise at an unexpected metallic rattle. 

With a flare of concern, he turned to her. "Have the jump engines always made that noise?"

The vixen's ears popped up as well, even though the sound was long gone. "I think so." 

Her lover sighed, stretching his arms one at a time over his head. "Sorry, I just don't want the thing to explode before we switch to the new ship."

"Quite alright." She patted his arm. "I want that too." She watched as the planet Sauria came into view. The combined emotional aura of thousands of sentient creatures tingled at the edge of her perceptions. "I always forget how cheerful Sauria feels overall. The dinosaurs really have life figured out."

"Perfect." Fox crossed his arms. "We'll just find some worry and follow it to Tricky."

"I don't know." Propping her hands on her hips, she glanced at him through her beaded bangs. "He already called us, so he might think the problem's solved."

"Heh." Falco sat peeling the fake leather off his chair. "And they say Sauria's not part of the Lylat System."

The foxes turned to him. After a brief moment of consideration, Krystal extended her fist to him.

After a longer moment of hesitation, the bird bumped it with his own.

~ ~ ~

Fox led a flight of the most advanced starfighters ever constructed into the atmo of the least advanced planet in the system. Or possibly the most advanced? Tough to tell with magic dinosaurs.

"Sauria Control, this is Star Fox One." McCloud checked his engines were ready to switch over to atmospheric flight. "Requesting permission to enter Saurian airspace."

"I read ya loud and clear, Star Fox!" Tricky's giant smile appeared on the comm. "Permission to enter sovereign airspace granted!" He chuckled at his own mastery of the terminology. "You are cleared to land."

After a couple seconds of silence, Falco butted in. "Anywhere in particular? Or should we just guess?"

"The landing pad by the EarthWalker palace, of course!" Giddy with excitement, he stamped his feet in place. "You can't miss it!"

"Copy that, Sauria Control." 

"Tricky out!" He turned and stomped off from the still-active comm. The camera showed only an empty throne room, though eventually a theropod wandered in to sweep the floor.

Krystal's face appeared on the comm screen. "Was that blue medal on his crest a Star Fox emblem?"

One paw rubbing the scruff of his neck, Fox tried to think of how to explain that without sounding silly. "It belonged to my father. I kept it as a good luck charm for years, but after he helped me save the planet I made him an honorary member of the team." He shrugged. "Wearing it as part of his crown is new, though."

The blue vulpine tilted her head. "That's sweet."

Slippy blinked as he joined the call. "So there are five members of Star Fox?"

"Technically, yes." The red fox stretched his fingers, then settled them around the familiar flight controls of his Arwing. "To comply with Cornerian tax law, we list Tricky as a pilot."

Falco crowed: "Yeah, kinda like how we list Slippy as one."

The frog's normally cheery face soured with dismay. "Hey! I heard that."

The bird snickered. "Once we're done here, we could hold auditions for someone to replace Slip."

Krystal replied with a vulpine purr. "We could recruit Katt. Then every mission would be a double-date."

Falco's plumage rose. His beak clacked shut.

The vixen smirked at his reaction. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Do you copy, Star Fox Two?" Fox chuckled. "Dip your wing at me if your mic is down."

The bird looked away from his cockpit camera. "...It might be nice to have a lovely little kitty waiting for me after our missions."

The lead pilot rolled his eyes as Krystal suppressed a snicker. "We're coming up on the EarthWalker capital now."

A ring of levitating gemstones, each about the size of a shuttlepod, floating around the perimeter of a landing pad. It wouldn't have been out of place in Corneria City, had it not been perched atop an ancient stone pyramid in the middle of a city scaled for dinosaurs. 

The quartet of Arwings landed adroitly atop a moss-draped stone ziggurat. Fox popped his canopy. A rush of fresh air, the first he'd breathed in months, surged inside with a lush complexity of scents. He climbed down extending metal steps to the massive carved blocks that composed the pyramid. Standing at the edge of the platform, he looked out over Sauria's walled capital city. Around him in all directions, the city gleamed golden and blazed with vibrant banners. Beyond, the jungle swayed on the wind and shimmered every shade of green. From this vantage, he could see the citizens shuffling about their daily lives in markets and by-streets. CloudRunners flapped overhead, the membranes of their wings aglow in the clear sunlight. Wind tossed his tail fur.

Beside him, Slippy hopped down from his own cockpit and tilted his wide face to the sky. "You think the Great Fox'll be okay in orbit without us?"

"Better than it would be down here." Fox offered his paw to Krystal as she climbed from her fighter, which she graciously accepted. "It doesn't even have landing gear."

Falco swooped down from his cockpit with a cynical glance at paradise.

McCloud looked up at him. "You double-check your G-diffuser turned off? Sauria has lower grav. I don't want your Arwing blowing away again."

"Yeah, yeah..." The bird rolled his eyes and hopped down to the stone surface.

A triceratops thundered up the ramp to the landing pad and toward them. "Fox! Krystal! I knew you'd come!" His massive muzzle battered the red fox back against his Arwing. "Thank you so much!"

Regaining his footing, McCloud patted him on the snout. "Hey, old pal. What's all this about?"

"I'll tell you later, just play along." Breathless, he winked. Then he twirled his massive form around to stand at the team's side. His tail whacked the front strut of Falco's landing gear, sending the ship rocking precariously. 

Falco dove to a control panel on his fighter's hull and hit a few buttons. The craft settled with a heavy clank. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and glare at Tricky.

The king of Sauria glanced back at the sound, oblivious to the avian outrage. "Wow, these Arwings are smaller than I remember…"

With a blast of trumpets, dozens of dinosaurs paraded up the ramp of the pyramid. Festooned with ribbons, the citizens of Sauria cheered as they crested the ramp and saw the team. Various species gathered around them, sparkling in their finery. More than one young dinosaur hooted with excitement even as they chewed on their flowery garlands. Pterodactyls landed at the edge of the platform, and on the occasional sauropod. Ankylosaurs waddled their way into the crowd between triceratops. Here and there, raptors peered between the gaps with unsettling interest.

The triceratops king strutted around to face his people. "On behalf of the tribes of Sauria, I want to welcome the Star Fox team." 

The dinosaurs hooted, stomped, and clacked claws and horns together. Falco and Slippy looked to each other with discomfort. 

"C'mon!" He bounced in place, shaking dust from the ancient stones. "We've got a whole party waiting for you."

Fox rubbed the scruff of his neck. "Uhh, I appreciate that, old pal, but—"

A troupe of BoneHead dinos blasted a tune on their trumpets. The crowd of Saurians swept them up and hurried them down the massive stone ramp. A line of bejeweled raptors led the way, twirling colorful flags.

A young sauropod leaned down to squint at the avian. After studying him up and down, she ventured: "Are you a fox?"

Falco's crest shot up in offense. "What? No!"

Slippy raised a flipper helpfully. "I'm also not a fox."

An older sauropod with similar coloration craned down to help. "They must be lesser spirits." 

Stomping beside them, a ThornTail nodded sagely. "Servants of the fox spirits."

McCloud patted the tree-trunk-like leg of the youngster. "He's a bird. His name is Falco. My name—" 

"Oh, I know who you are!" The hatchling turned to look down at the vulpine. "You're Fox McCloud. Tricky summons you when he needs a helper on his adventures."

Still being jostled along by dinos, Krystal threw her muzzle back in a laugh. 

The young HighTop studied. "And that makes you Fox Krystal, right?"

Her blue ears popped straight up as she stifled another snicker. "That wasn't the half of his name I was planning on taking."

Fox sputtered. 

She smiled up at the smaller sauropod. "Just calling me Krystal will do."

The youngster nodded. 

Ushered to an amphitheater, Fox found his team deposited in the best seats. Tricky settled in beside them. The stands around them seated hundreds of dinosaurs, a rainbow of scale colors and a curious admixture of shapes. The tallest sauropods stood outside, resting their chins on the top rim of the theater between chattering pterodactyls. 

A pair of pterodactyls fluttered in to deliver trays of roasted yams in an assortment of hues. Tricky thanked them and immediately began chowing down on the steaming delicacies.

Fox leaned in around Slippy, who was already gumming at a yam. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Hmm?" The king looked up at his friend, a sweet potato pinched in his beak. After a moment of clearly considering putting it back on the plate, he tilted his head back and chomped it as quickly as possible. "Oh, the kids wanted to put on a play in your honor."

The vulpine "No, I mean what you called me—"

The curtain rose on an elaborate pageant. Barely waiting for his musical cue, a small pink-and-purple triceratops sang enthusiastically about being king someday. Eventually, one of the parent sauropods lowered a papier-mâché Arwing on a rope. The SharpClaw playing Fox wore a good approximation of his flight suit and a bucket of coppery body paint. The top half of a powder-blue sauropod played Krystal, while her bottom half played variously trees, a palace, or other scenery. The kid playing Tricky, of course, got the best lines.

McCloud tried to extract more information from the EarthWalker, but found his attention inextricably pulled toward the spectacle of one of the more surreal chapters of his life reenacted by preadolescent dinosaurs. Especially since they found every excuse to release clouds of fireflies. 

On the stage, Tricky The Amazing and his helpful sidekick Fox Who Has Thumbs gallivanted through another musical number, this one about teaching Fox to dig up delicious plants in the wilderness. Drums, flutes, and a backup chorus accompanied them as they bounced around the stage. They chased Krazoa spirits made of yarn through a mass of dancing dinos dressed as rocks and trees, flung into the air here and there by glitter-covered trampolines. 

Back in the seats, Falco leaned on the railing of the box seats, disgusted. Slippy watched in rapt attention, head bobbing from side to side. Krystal, clad in a flight suit and beads, took it all in with a cultured air. 

An especially short hatchling dressed as General Scales howled and snarled his way through whipping his fellow SharpClaws into a frenzy, literally chewing on the scenery at one point. He had a good evil laugh, Fox had to admit, even if his fake sword-hand fell off halfway through the solo. The fight scene between him and Krystal mostly consisted of him tumbling around while the sauropod twisted her neck back and forth, sending blue limbs flailing like empty pajama sleeves. Whole sections of the stage shifted on wheeled tracks, showing the different parts of the planet threatening to drift off into space.

The climax saw the foxes united and helping Tricky to battle mini-Scales, a magical T-rex, and a ten-meter papier-mâché monkey head. All at once, with full choral accompaniment. Fox watched in shock as his doppelganger crashed into the giant Andross head. The bed-sheet T-rex started on fire mid-battle, though he had no idea if that was intentional, since adult dinosaurs hurried onstage and stomped the flames out. Tricky and Krystal knocked Scales into his own gemstone-imprisoning machine, which tumbled out of caught in a net of blue yarn and then pretended to be frozen.

At the end, the young dinosaurs all trampled on stage for one more massive musical number. The foxes bid them farewell and stood atop the slightly-crumpled Arwing, which was lifted out on a rope by the same adult HighTop. The sections of the stage all slid back together, showing the planet was no longer breaking apart. Hatchlings representing each tribe of Sauria gathered onstage to sing about friendship and cooperation, complete with jazz-hands and more stomping than the stage was likely designed for. 

The crowd cheered with wild enthusiasm. Howls and whistles he didn't know dinosaurs were capable of reverberated through the space. The CloudRunners perched on the rim of the theater crowed with approval. Slippy slapped damp hands together, stopping only to snap up a passing glow bug. Even Falco slowly clapped his wings together, even as he did his best to look bored.

Fox's muzzle hung open long after the final curtain fell. Only when he felt a gentle finger close it for him did he look over at Krystal. Around them, adult dinosaurs chatted about how it'd all gone much better than the rehearsals. 

She grinned. "Not quite how I remember it."

"They took some creative license." Tricky rocked back and forth in a massive shrug. "Your character needed more to do."

"I'd wager." She smirked. "Now, Tricky, is there somewhere we can go talk—"

A blast of horns drew the dinosaurs' attention. The whole crowd shuffled to their feet and chattered with excitement as they exited the amphitheater. Several of the smaller dinos hopped offstage to bounce out beside their parents. 

The red fox looked around the passing crowd. "Now what?"

King Tricky lifted his head to let a cluster of small raptors past. "Oh, we prepared a feast in your honor too." 

McCloud pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "That's great, Trick, but we need—"

One of the CloudRunners who'd delivered the yams tottered up on toes and wingtips. "I must ask, Star Foxes: have you ever tried pukpuk nuggets? My tribe has been perfecting the recipe for thousands of years. I've prepared all 14 traditional dipping sauces."

Slippy spun on a heel and waddled toward the door, glowing internally from the fireflies. Falco slouched after him. 

The team leader lashed his tail. "Hey! Where are you two going?"

With a quick spin, the frog walked backwards without slowing. "We have to respect their culture, Fox!" 

"And I'm hungry." Falco didn't even bother turning around, popping the collar of his flight jacket.

A solid wave of EarthWalkers entered the box seats and swept Tricky along with amorous nuzzles. Blushing, Fox recognized two of them. And at least one of the others appeared to be male. The purple-pink triceratops flashed the vulpines an apologetic smile before he surrendered to being dragged from the structure by his harem. 

As the last of the crowd exited, the massive space stood empty. The perfect acoustics allowed him to hear his own breathing. His ears perked at the sound of other quiet breaths behind him. He didn't even need to turn to hear his mate's amusement, making him feel a little like an empath himself. He turned to see her pretty green eyes, though.

With a smooth step closer, Krystal took his paw in hers. She pressed her forehead to his for a moment, as if to transfer him some calm. Then she straightened and inclined her head at the door. "Shall we?"

He sighed, hearing it echo through the silent space. "Why not?"

~ ~ ~

After a feast, another parade on the way to the feast, poetry reading during the feast, and accepting various tokens of esteem, Fox and Krystal managed to sneak away from the crowd. The blue vixen took her lover by the paw and led him through the massive stone streets of the ancient city to the EarthWalker palace. Opulent tapestries of dinosaurs lined the walls, each as intricate and colorful as the emotions pulsing through the city around her.

"You know your way around here pretty well." McCloud followed her around the tenth or eleventh corner. "Did you spend a lot of time at the palace?"

Her slim muzzle turned back and forth down a hallway before she charged onward. "Actually, I've never been. CloudRunner Fortress was always my base of operations."

His ears sprung up, along with one of his eyebrows. "So how do you know where we're going?"

With a roll of her eyes, she tapped her temple. 

"Right." He nodded. "I forget about that."

"I know you do." She nodded politely to a velociraptor maid changing some linens, then sauntered onward with a fluid sway of her hips and tail. "It's the only time you let yourself fully appreciate my appearance."

His ears dipped, suddenly warm. "...Good point." He took a deep breath as they continued on. "Why'd the Queen CloudRunner give us a flute anyway?" His eyes flicked to the purple instrument looped on her belt. "Isn't that for playing lullabies to hatchlings?"

The vixen smirked back at him. "Exactly."

"Aw jeez." He ran a paw over the white streak of fur atop his head. "Is this whole planet preoccupied with us having sex?"

"Difficult to say." She squeezed his paw as she brushed her smile along his muzzle. Her eyes lingered a moment on his, transmitting her emotions as best she could. "Empaths have trouble sensing preoccupations they share."

The todd straightened and sputtered, emitting a field of flustered titillation. 

Before she could finish gloating and kiss him, a familiar voice echoed down the corridor: "Alright Star Fox, full speed ahead!" 

The foxes exchanged a glance of mutual questioning. That had sounded quite a bit like Tricky. They crept down the hall, Krystal in near-silence, Fox in as much as flight boots allowed. Together, they peeked around the corner.

The king of the entire planet lay on his back, thick legs stuck straight up in the air. "A planet that knows only fear—" He balanced two carved wooden Arwings on his feet and swooped them at each other. "—needs a hero who has none!"

Fox turned to her in disbelief, mouth hanging open. 

"Who am I?" The dinosaur lifted one front leg for a dramatic pose, bouncing the toy adroitly. "I'm Fox, Fox McCloud—and don't forget it! Pew-pew-pew!"

Deciding it would be best not to be caught eavesdropping, Krystal strode into the room and towed her lover along with her.

"Oh, hi Fox. Hey Krystal." The massive dinosaur rolled to his feet and set down the toys. The gems on his crest lit up, causing the wooden starfighters to zip over to a box atop a varnished dresser. "You guys like the party?"

"Yeah, it was great." The red fox cut through the small talk with a swipe of his paw. "Tricky, would you please tell us why you called us here?"

"Okay, okay…" The gems on Tricky's crown glowed again, this time to shut the door behind them. "So we may have lost General Scales."

"He died?" Krystal's ears rose. "How?"

"No." The ruler shook his massive head. "I mean I don't know where we put him. My mom and dad stuck him in a giant gemstone. They had the LightFoots hide him, but they say they don't remember where."

The blue vixen's eyes narrowed. "They don't remember?"

The red fox crossed his arms. "Is this just one of their terrible tests? They had the worst test."

"For maximum security, they were moving him from place to place on a need-to-know basis." The triceratops rocked back and forth. "And then I guess nobody needed to know."

Groaning, McCloud pressed a paw to his eyes. 

Krystal looked perplexed. "Why didn't you just tell us that?"

"Security, guys! It might have been…intercepted." The triceratops winked at the use of the exotic word.

Fox closed his eyes and began to radiate a sense of unfairness at life in general and Sauria in particular. 

Krystal tried to think of a nice way to tell the dinosaur no one in Lylat knows or cares about Saurian intrigue. Which was part of why she took such a personal interest: a little space-age tech went a long way to stabilize a planet full of dinosaurs using gemstone-based psychic power.

At their non-reaction, the dinosaur king stamped his feet a little as anxiety bubbled up in his voice. "Didn't you guys notice me winking?"

His old vulpine pal threw his arms in the air. "You wink about lots of things. For all I knew, you had something in your eye."

"Wow." The triceratops stared off into the introspective distance. "It's finally happened: I've become too tricky for my own good."

"So now you need our help to find him?" Fox indulged in a resigned smirk. "Because we're the only ones who can?"

"Yeah!" His scaled eyebrows sprung up. "How'd you know?"

The todd patted him on a massively muscled front shoulder. "I've solved every planetary-scale problem in this system since I was 18."

"Man!" The triceratops laughed in sudden mirth. "Why haven't they made you king?"

The vixen's laugh rang through the bed chamber. "I guess not everywhere's as enlightened as Sauria."

"Huh. Yeah." The dino-king nodded. "Well, the LightFoots say they put him somewhere in a series of caverns by ThornTail Hollow." He glanced at the large stone sundial on his balcony. "Oh right. Guys, I have a meeting. Let's walk and talk."

Glancing down a corridor, Fox noticed a team of theropods pushing laundry carts and chattering in snm arled tones. He continued walking at the EarthWalker's flank. "I can't help but notice you have a lot of SharpClaws working for you. Is that something you…know about?"

"Oh yeah. People have been suspicious of them since they made the planet break up that one time, so I'm showing them that there is nothing to fear. And having so many of them here means I can listen for anything they might be plotting. And trusting them means they'll fight on my side next time." 

"Wow." McCloud's head tilted back a bit as the reasoning hit him. "That's actually pretty wise."

"They're also really good at picking up things!" Tricky bounced, shaking the rafters. "So I'd rather have them working for me than enemies."

"Ah yes." The blue fox smoothed the coat of her uniform. "Thumbs could be quite dangerous in the wrong hands."

The todd raised a finger. "I have more questions about the Scales situation." 

"As do I." Krystal brushed a beaded lock of hair from her face. "For example: why aren't we looking for him right now?"

"Oh! A couple reasons, actually." His massive head bobbed in assurance. "I didn't want to cause a panic, since he's probably still stuck in that gemstone. And we don't have enough fireflies, so I have some of my best people catching more. A few days from now, we should be able to search the caves!" His beaked smile shone with gormless hope. "Just like the old days, huh Fox?"

Krystal extended a graceful paw palm-up, offering a suggestion. "We could use torches."

"I don't think we should carry burning sticks into the caves. Lots of things down there might start on fire." His tail rocked side to side as he listed them. "Coal, old tree roots, fire weeds, natural gas, giant spiderwebs, bomb spore plants..."

"She means flashlights, Trick." Fox drew his blaster and flicked on the small light under the barrel. A pool of white light glinted on the rich carpet before them.

"Wow, cool!" He waved a front foot into the path of the light. "Space magic!"

"Or you could just have the gems on your devices glow bright enough to see by." Krystal drew her collapsed staff from her belt and clicked a button with her thumb. Either end of it cast enough light to illuminate the hallway for twenty meters.

"Yeah, yeah! That's a great idea." He beamed at their sources of illumination. "See? This is why I called you here."

Without a word, Fox shook his head and holstered his zapper pistol.

Krystal put away her staff. "Why don't you have your subjects help look for him?"

"Like I said, they'd probably panic. Everyone's still really scared of Scales. We had to really tone him down for the play." Tricky inclined his horns at a window in the direction of the amphitheater. "They don't thrive on danger like we do." He rocked his head at either of them in turn, winking.

"Ugh!" The red fox used both paws to flatten back his whiskers. "Buddy, I don't have time to teach you about how winking works right now..."

"Okay, Fox." The crowned triceratops shrugged. "We're here anyway." He pushed open the heavy doors to a sprawling throne room. 

Half a dozen EarthWalkers and a CloudRunner twirled around the room. Each danced, clad in nothing more than bangles, spangles, and silk.

The team's avian ace stood in one corner, watching as he sipped a frozen toxic-green slush. He'd changed out of his flight suit and into a fully-unbuttoned flower print shirt, a shell necklace, and sandals. "I told 'em to get some practice in beforehand." His beak jerked up in the direction of the dancers. "I'm starting to see the appeal." 

The lead pilot rolled his eyes. "Falco, they're 10-ton quadrupeds."

He tilted the drink toward his fearless leader. "You underestimate how long I've been on that ship."

Krystal glanced about the room. "Where's Slippy?"

He crossed his wings with a derisive caw. "Ditched him at the bug kebab stands. Probably in a mud bath by now. He said somethin' about this planet havin' interesting mud." The bird sneered. "And tasty bugs."

Noticing Tricky, the concubines organized themselves for the actual performance. Off to one side, a band of drummers and flute players started up a sensual rhythm. The delicate wail of an exotic stringed instrument counterpointed the massive stomping that shook Fox's rib cage. 

"Could I get some context here?" The red fox found himself having trouble pulling his gaze away from the swaying dinosaurs.

The triceratops king leaned in, but kept watching the proceedings. "By EarthWalker tradition, they're supposed to be competing to see who gets to be queen…" He glanced out over the harem of dinosaurs dancing quite collaboratively, twirling and grinding against one another. "…but I think maybe they've heard my 'Everything is Better when We Cooperate' speech too many times."

"So…" He cut the air with a wing. "…all these dinosaurs wanna have sex with you?"

"I know, right? You save the world one time and suddenly everyone thinks you're a genius and wants you to sire their hatchlings."

The avian stood staring at Tricky, his expression darkening like a storm cloud.

"I can only actually do that for female EarthWalkers, but that doesn't stop everybody else from trying."

The ace's beak dropped slowly open, like a hangar bay ready to launch insults.

Tricky babbled on, unaware of the impending attack. "I sometimes get jealous of you other members of Star Fox." His massive frame gave a wistful sigh. "You don't have to deal with managing treasure or everyone asking for advice all the time or keeping a harem happy. It's so complicated. I wish I could just go to space. And just fly around with Fox. That must be really fun!"

Falco emitted a noise of ultimate disgust. With a death-grip on his slushy, took a breath to reply. 

With the timing of a bodyguard, Krystal stepped between him and the ruler. She took him by the wing. "Let's step out into the hallway for a moment." Her calm gaze flashed to her lover. "Fox?"

The team leader shook his head with a slight smile. "On your six."

The king of Sauria watched them leave with a doe-eyed look of concern, though a coordinated flourish of sequined motion soon stole his attention back. 

Once they'd dragged the avian into the corridor, they shut the huge wooden doors. The music seeped through, if muted. It did little, however, to stop the reverberations of the stomping.

"Jeez laweez! How's that purple hornball get all the breaks?" He cawed with outrage, jabbing a primary feather at the closed door. "Ladies are throwing themselves at him. Guys too! Everybody think he's a genius, but he's dumber than a smart bomb!" He shook his slushy at them, scattering a string of lime-green blobs on his wingman's flight suit. 

"He's our friend, Falco." Krystal folded her arms with a stern tone. "You should be happy for him."

"Or at least not insult him so much that he stops hosting feasts in our honor." After wiping off the beverage as best he could, Fox mirrored his lover's body language. He tried to keep his voice on a steady flight path; no sense in ruffling feathers further. "You know the last time someone had a parade for us?"

"Less work. Better food. Lives in a palace while we've been stuck on a third-rate deathtrap for the past year!" The bird cawed at the ceiling with disgust, revealing a pointy, green-stained tongue. "There's no justice in the Universe."

"Falco, listen—" Fox reached one paw toward his friend's shoulder.

"No!" A swift wing batted the paw away. "I've had enough of how freakin' fantastic Tricky has everything!" He popped the collar of his flight suit and turned away with a dramatic scowl. "I'm gonna go score dino tail."

The blue fox rolled her eyes and raised a slender finger. "One, we both know that's a lie." A second digit rose to join the first. "Two, I already told Katt to meet us here." She pulled a comm out of her pocket and showed him a screen of text. "Three, she sent me this message saying she's somewhere on the outskirts of Cape Claw, wants you to come find her…" She paused for breath and dramatic effect. "...and may or may not be still wearing her skirt."

His feathery crest shot up like a paper fan snapped open. "You guys couldn't even tell her to come straight here?"

She launched a sly look down her muzzle. "I don't think anyone has ever succeeded in telling Katt to go anywhere."

"Holy smokes. How much time have we wasted talking about stupid dino junk?" He snatched his own communicator off his belt. "You jerks got no idea how long it takes to preen! I didn't even bring my beak polish down here!" 

"Oh?" The vixen's mouth arched into a smile. "You're going then?"

"I'm so outta here!" Already hustling away, he tossed one wing in the air. "You guys can sit around and help Tricky with his perfect sexy life without me."

Watching his wingmate go, McCloud shook his muzzle. 

Down the hallway, Falco turned right, then dashed left a moment later, unknowingly sloshing some partly-frozen fruit juice on the rug as he departed.

A pair of SharpClaw butlers arrived to see what all the commotion was about, but found only a neon-green stain on the carpet. As one of them bent to use a handkerchief on the goop, the other watched the Star Fox member fleeing down the corridor. "The bird one seems to be a spirit of lewdness and profanity." His companion nodded up at him in agreement.

The lead pilot glanced to his girlfriend. "You didn't tell him about the teleporters?"

She shook her head as the clamor of sexy dinosaur dancing rattled the walls behind them. Her paw closed around his. "Then he might come back."

Fox nodded pleasantly, though it only drew Krystal's attention.

She turned to face him. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah..." With a deep sigh, he leaned back against the wall. It shook against his shoulders. "I've been thinking about what Wolf said..."

"Oh?" Amusement sparkled in her gaze. "It's a bit late, but I'm sure we could get you fitted for a collar somewhere."

"Ha ha." He rocked his head from side to side, missing the familiar weight of his targeting visor. "About needing to manage our public image. I thought being heroes would be enough, that people would see the value in that, but what if he's right?"

The empath swept to face him, booted paws still graceful, moving to the beat of muted drums. "He's psychotic."

"Oh totally." He waved a paw in the air, yielding the point. "Doesn't mean he's wrong. Is my pride making it harder to protect people? Should I be selling out harder? Movie royalties could've rebuilt our ship sooner."

"Doing what's right is rarely glamorous or practical. In spite of evidence to the contrary, you can't save the Lylat System from everything by yourself. And you don't." Her palm landed on the wall near his head as she leaned in to deliver a reassuring nose-bump. "You're a fine pilot, Inari McCloud, but you're not a god."

He smirked at the use of the kami spirit he'd almost been named after. 

"I know this is hard for you non-empaths to notice, but millions of other people on the planets we visit want life to be peaceful, fair, and safe. They work for it every day. Many of them get less credit for it than you do." She gave him a wink Tricky could learn from.

His ears drooped a little. He rested a paw on her hip. "Do you ever get tired of being right?"

"I'll let you know if it happens." Her long and supple tail swished playfully. "You're not worried about Wolf showing up?"

Fox shrugged. "If morality and common sense never got him to leave me alone, maybe shame will do the trick." He looked up into her loving green eyes. "We're really going to crawl through caves looking for Scales, aren't we?"

"Of course we are." Her smile slowly spreading, she toyed with the fluff of his ear.

His expression straightened to a sardonic line. "Guess I'm just a sucker for dinos in need."

"It's why I love you." She intercepted his muzzle for a quick kiss. "It'll be something we do as a couple. Like a date."

"Ah yes." He rolled his eyes. "What could be more romantic than looking for a dinosaur warlord trapped in a gemstone?"

Leaning in closer, she cupped his cheek ruff with her other paw. "At least this time I won't be inside the gemstone."

"That is a plus." His paw slipped up under the hem of her coat and squeezed her flank through the clingy fabric. He was really starting to like her new uniform.

"Really, love." She pressed her muzzle to his as a flute solo rose to a sensual climax in the next room. "What's the worst that could happen?"

~ ~ ~

I didn't really think about it until writing this game, but Sauria is probably the planet we know the most about in the entire Star Fox setting.

Edits: Slate, SillyNeko345, Eljot001, CarlMinez, KohakuNightfang  
Art: JecBrush (Used with permission.) http://jecbrush.deviantart.com/

\- Tempo

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krystal and Fox help track down General Scales and no crazy monster battles of any kind occur!

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 13  
by Tempo

_Krystal and Fox help track down General Scales and no crazy battles of any kind occur._

~ ~ ~

Fox spat out another mouthful of spiders as he punched his way through a face-high mass of cobwebs. They'd been trudging through cave systems for hours. With each step, his boots squished into several centimeters of mud, sapping his speed like an atmospheric break. Even the lower grav didn't help much.

Tricky stomped on happily. "Man! I hope we don't run into Scales. But if we do, I'll be ready!" He stared at a pile of rocks as his crest gems glowed. The stones exploded. "Yeah! Take that!"

The red fox's eyes shot wide. "Did you just blow up rocks with your mind?"

"With my crown!" He pranced forward to show off the glimmering horn jewelry. "It's just like Krystal's staff. It responds to your thoughts. How else would I flip switches?"

His gaze flicked to his girlfriend. "Krystal's doesn't look much like yours."

"Oh yeah." Tricky nodded. "We just made hers look like a staff because she has thumbs."

"And people wonder why I'm so fond of this planet." The vixen brushed a cobweb from her hair with grace. "Show up, help a bit, get a staff that blows rocks up."

Fox lowered the arm that had been shielding him from the flying pebbles. "As for General Scales, we defeated him once. I mean, he just sort of passed out once the Krazoa spirits bailed on him, if that counts. So it wasn't too bad."

"Yeah, but it's really hard to fight SharpClaws because they have hands." The ten-ton reptile bounced up on his back legs and kicked his front ones, before slamming merrily back to all fours. 

Fox glanced back. "He only has one hand, Tricky."

"But the other one has pointy things!" The dinosaur king rolled not only his eyes, but his entire head, then his massive pink-purple body. "And I'm mostly soft parts."

Krystal lifted an eyebrow at him. "How's being the ruler treating you, Tricky?"

"It's pretty good!" The massive dinosaur wiggled. "But a lot of work. I'm trying to get everyone to switch to using coins instead of scarabs, but we've been using bugs for a really long time."

"That's a good idea." She nodded. "Coins are much easier to carry."

"Yeah! And coins almost never run away." He tromped down the length of the tunnel, splashing mud everywhere.

The trio came to a cavern large enough to park the Great Fox in. Massive boulders obscured the far side. Fox took a deep breath of the musty air and sighed. This wasn't the first maze Sauria had thrown at him.

Meanwhile, Krystal snapped her staff to full length, clicked several buttons, and sat on it like a witch's broom. After a second, it lifted her off the ground and hovered ten or twenty meters into the air. She surveyed the room calmly, propelled by a controlled jet of red flame, then floated back down for a soft landing.

By the time she touched down, Fox had regained the power of speech. "How'd you get the rocket boost to last that long?"

"You mean 'how did I get the flight mode to last a perfectly normal thirty seconds'?" She dismounted the staff and gave him a wry look. "Did never get that staff to do that? Was it out of fuel?"

"No, it only worked when I found a natural vent of volatile gas to fill it from." He sputtered. "And even then, it only got me off the ground for about a second."

The blue vixen flipped open a waterproof case on her belt, then froze halfway through drawing a sandwich out. Her gaze snapped up to him. "That's safety feature! It only does that when you over-fill it." She gestured at the device in her paw. "It could have exploded at any time."

Fox pondered that for a moment. "Huh."

"Ooooooh!" The dinosaur tilted his head as he thought back. "I just thought you were an awesome daredevil."

Krystal patted his side. "Tricky, now that you're older, I think you'll find that 'knowing exactly what you're doing' and 'having absolutely no idea' look surprisingly similar."

The purple triceratops closed his eyes for a moment to take in this outer space wisdom. 

Ducking another cobweb, Fox rolled his eyes.

She clicked her belt pouch sealed, giving up on lunch for the moment. Still holding the staff, she crossed her arms. "So how many times did you use the staff wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know..." He shrugged. "A few times."

She stared at him and tapped her temple.

"Okay, so I did it a hundred times." He pointed off into the darkness, at the countless dangers that no doubt awaited a second shot at him. "And, in my defense, lots of things were trying to make me explode at the time."

"But you didn't! And it's all thanks to quality Saurian craftsmanship." The muddy dino trotted around them with pride, then stopped to examine a giant glowing mushroom. "It even didn't even quit working when he used it to beat up every SharpClaw we met."

Her paws curled protectively around the device. "Wait. You just whacked it against everything in your path?" 

"Pretty much." He shrugged. "It did this charge-up thing once in a while, but it was faster to just keep swinging."

"No wonder it came back looking as if it'd been dropped from orbit..." She perked as the thought sunk in. "Wow. That must have taken ages."

The copper-furred vulpine sighed. "Yeah... You probably weren't fully aware of the passage of time inside that gemstone." Even remembering that mission made him tired. "Consider yourself lucky." 

"Oh yes. So much better than being out fixing things." She retracted the staff with a snap and slid it back on her flight suit belt. "Perhaps Tricky would be kind enough to seal me in one before we leave so I can follow my dream of being a paperweight."

"I dunno." Tricky got a dismayed look. "Paperwork is hard enough without you staring at me from inside a big gemstone."

Fox spread his arms to sweep the topic away. "Anyway, I never really got the hang of the controls."

After a moment's consideration, she nodded. "It was designed by people without thumbs for people with thumbs, so it's not the most intuitive."

~ ~ ~

Several hours passed, only to leave them still trudging through the mud. Fox's legs burned with the effort of dragging his boots free with each step. His beautiful girlfriend looked a little worse for wear, if still lovely. He didn't say it, but she was wearing about three times her normal amount of clothing, which might be adding to her looking overheated. He, meanwhile, was carrying a belt full of grenades, which had gotten heavier with every click they'd hiked.

He glanced at his comm gauntlet, seeing it was almost evening. "I think we'd better call it a day." 

"Oh, okay! Perfect timing, 'cause I know a shortcut!" Dashing off, Tricky led them through another hundred meters of twisting passages to a glowing circle on the cave floor, then stood there grinning. "C'mon!"

The foxes stepped into the ring of light, only to be gently lifted higher and higher. The three of them passed through several layers of tunnels. Reaching the surface, McCloud squinted at the sunlight greeted them. Wind danced through his fur. He surveyed the rolling hills, the ancient ruins, and the shimmering lake—and he didn't recognize any of it. The gravity lift set him softly on the grassy gravel of the hillside.

Exiting the lift, Krystal landed on solid ground beside him. "Where are we?"

"Oh, a few kilometers east of the Walled City. Pretty isolated place." Floating to a landing, the dinosaur winked, then winked again in case they missed it.

He glanced up at the hovering triceratops. "Seriously, Tricky, what did I say about the winking?"

With his massive feet on the ground, the royal dino clomped over through some underbrush to a rustic wooden cabin. "Oh wow—what's this? Some kind of mysterious structure. We'd better investigate." He stomped onward, barely disguising his enthusiasm.

Krystal picked her way through the newly-destroyed bushes toward the small building. "I suppose we could have a peek."

Shaking his head, Fox followed. When one's girlfriend and one's biggest fan agreed on something, he thought it best to just go along with it. He caught up to Tricky standing at the door to the cabin.

Bouncing in place, the dinosaur stamped even more vegetation flat with his enthusiasm. "Go on, open it!"

After a brief glance shared with Krystal, he reached a tired paw up and opened the the front door. The scent of fresh flowers and sweet smoke washed past him instantly. Inside, he found a cozy space with slightly-too-large chairs and a significantly-too-low roof. His ears brushed the ceiling as he stepped inside. A knee-high mound of flower petals filled one corner of the room, stirring with the outside breeze. 

Stepping inside, McCloud pointed at it. "Is this...just a pile rose petals?"

"No, there's a bed under there." Poking his head as far in the doorway as it would fit, the dinosaur gave him an especially massive wink.

Krystal strode over and brushed off about ten centimeters of them, revealing pink bedsheets. "Huh, he's right." Rich red petals scattered over her flight boots as she ran a paw over the fabric. "Ooh, soft."

"Weeeeeeelllllllll..." The triceratops shrugged, causing the doorframe to creak. "Guess I'd better scout a good route back to town while you guys investigate this. It'll probably take me an hour to get back, maybe more, which is enough time for foxes, right?" He took the doorknob delicately in his beak and pulled the door shut after him. 

The foxes stood in silence as heavy stomping and victorious giggles receded into the distance. Beside him, he noticed a potted succulent plant he'd seen the Saurians use to lubricate everything from machinery to door hinges. A faint curl of incense twirled up from a holder on the mantle. It smelled a lot like the chambers the harem's dance contest had taken place in, which told Fox more than he probably needed to know.

His girlfriend glanced in the direction of the retreating ruler, ears perked at sounds out of range to hear, mind tuned for emotions she was clearly amused by. 

Shaking his head, he the ace pilot stripped off his jacket, unbuckled his belt, then unzipped his flight suit. He set down the belt of weaponry with care, though it still made a heavy clunk on the floorboards. 

Krystal turned to him with even more amusement. "And here I thought you sick of Tricky's meddling?"

"You know what?" He kicked out of his boots, which landed across the room. "If the king of Sauria wants me to have sex with my beautiful girlfriend, I'm not going to object." Halfway down, his jumpsuit zipper caught on his undershirt. He tried to pull it free, but it stuck stubborn. A groan ground in his throat.

While he stood fiddling with it, the blue vixen ambled up to him and guided his hands away. Her gloved paws brushed over his cheeks, smoothed his bristled whiskers, and angled his muzzle for a slow kiss. Her calm breaths steadied his own. She tugged first one glove free from his paws, then the other, then her own. Next, she nuzzled down the side of his neck as her talented claws freed the zipper from his tank top. Their whiskers traced delicate lines along each other as she let his flight suit fall to the floor. 

Standing in an undershirt, flight scarf, and Arwing-print boxers, he danced out of his socks without even hitting his head on the low ceiling. With careful paws, he unzipped her flight suit and slipped his fingers under it to slide it off her smooth shoulders. She had more modest panties on than usual, but form-fitted enough that they continued the lovely curves of her body. Beads jingled in her hair as he helped lift her shirt over her head. 

The vixen turned, letting him unclasp her bra. It fluttered down, leaving her topless, save for a teal uniform scarf. She stepped out of her boots and the clothes pooled around them. She untied his scarf, then her own. Pausing for a quiet instant, she studied the matched pair. "You know, I think this does suit me."

A blush locked onto his ears. He wanted her part of his team, and part of his life, forever. Fumbling through the words to explain that, he instead managed: "G-glad to hear it."

Her supple paws guided him out of his own shirt, then explored the fur of his chest. "Mmmm. I'm quite fond of this as well." 

Ears dipped, Fox smiled at how much she enjoyed his body. He kept in good shape, but piloting a space fighter didn't exactly build upper body strength. His palms slid down her hips. "What'd I do to deserve you?"

"Being sweet..." She traced a claw under his chin, stirring the short fur. "...and brave..." Her nose rendezvoused with his, warm and tender. "...and careful with my heart." She leaned in until her brow rested on his. "That's how."

His tail wagged slowly behind them. In the corner of his eye, he spotted the rose petals spinning along the floor. Right, they had a bed in here. He took her slim paws and, after a long and deliberate kiss, eased her over to the bed.

With a swish of her tail that stirred even more petals, she simpered and walked socked paws up the front of his legs. She teased both hind paws over the growing tent in his boxers. "Aiming to knock my socks off?" 

He grabbed the garments in question, tugged them off, and tossed them over his shoulders. "I do have pretty good aim." Gripping her ankles, he spread her muscled legs and leaned in atop her. 

"Mmmm!" She ran her paws down his back as he play-bite along her shoulder. Her hips rocked up to meet his, two layers of thin fabric doing little to block the heat of their passion. 

They ground against one another. Her talented paws eased down his underwear, allowing his growing length to slip along her silken fur. She kissed him while groping his sheath and balls. 

Lost in a world of pleasure, he cupped a paw against the front of her panties. Moisture greeted his fingertips, eliciting a moan of desire from her. Pushing the garment aside, he slipped a finger in. After a few strokes, her passion soaked through the fur of his digit. She felt tighter than usual; it had been a little while. Deciding to take it slow, he nuzzled the curve of her neck as he fingered her. Only when she started to gasp and his arm started to ache did he slink down her body. 

Working like good teammates, they liberated her from her panties. Fox maneuvered between her legs and nuzzled in against her lovely entrance. Her excitement wet his whiskers as he licked his way inside. His paws dragged swoops along the curve of her rump and the flat of her stomach on their way to toy with her clit. With soft rapid circles, he stroked the hood of her bud as a counterpoint to the ever-deeper laps of his tongue inside her. 

Krystal growled with desire and jostled her hips toward him, angling them up in shameless desire for his attentions. Her delicate fingers rose to play with her nipples, which he watched harden between her paw pads. Times like this, he almost felt like an empath himself. They'd gotten to know each other's bodies and minds so well, they felt so at ease with each other, that he could guess by her slightest whimper when to speed up or slow down. Whatever else life held for him, he looked forward to spending the rest of his days refining his technique. 

For a moment, Fox thought he heard a strange rumbling sound. He disregarded it as the sound of an unfamiliar bed rattling. Probably a loose floor board. This building had looked hastily constructed.

With a gasp, she tightened on his tongue. Those slim but powerful paws gripped his ears and pressed him to her. A wordless cry announced her orgasm, which she rode out like a crash landing. Her hips bucked off the bed. Her legs shook around his shoulders. Her tail lashed along the sheets, scattering the last remaining rose petals. When, at last, she trembled back down to the mattress, she lay gasping for breath. Her paw curled under his moist chin, beckoning hip atop her. 

Grinning, Fox climbed up her body. He lined himself up to enter her. Her hips rose to welcome him in. Slick heat greeted his cock tip as he slid inside... 

And that's when General Scales, trapped in a massive hunk of sapphire, smashed through the roof.

His face frozen in a snarl of rage, he didn't move a muscle as he lifted out of the splintered floorboards and then out the new hole in the roof. As he rose into the sky, wood shingles fell away to reveal a towering plant monster in samurai armor. It moved with a bizarre slowness, raising the Scales-bludgeon over its head.

Biting his lower lip, Fox remained atop her for an instant, but sighed. "Not a hallucination?"

She snatched her belt from the floor, then yanked the staff from it. "Not a hallucination."

"Ugh." His head flopped onto her chest for an instant. "It's never a hallucination…" He sprung off the bed, tucked into a roll, and snatched his blaster from its holster on the floor. He reached out a paw toward his boxer shorts—

A dozen vines slithered into the ruined cabin. 

McCloud dropped the underwear and opened fire on the invaders. He crouched in place, hoping to drive it back, even just for a moment, and get some darn clothes on. 

Krystal bounced from the bed, heedless of her nudity, and snapped her staff weapon to full length. Bolts of orange plasma tore from the end of it, severing vines in spatters of chlorophyll.

A second wave of tendrils swept into the cabin. These ended in thorny, snapping fly-trap jaws the size of dinner plates. One of them dove straight for him, grazing Fox's fur and biting deep into the wooden floor. 

The red fox backpedaled, firing wildly, and flung himself backward onto the bed. From that angle he had a clear shot at the vines where they entered the hole in the roof. He also managed to throw a sheet over his waist, which felt strangely vital with surreal a plant monster chomping at him.

His lover twisted a control surface on her staff, which then unleashed a fountain of liquid nitrogen. It splashed over the vines, withering them in an instant. One by one, they shuddered to a stop, frozen solid. 

Through the gap in the roof, he spotted motion from the towering figure. He scrambled from the bed and tackled his girlfriend out the door. 

Gemstone Scales smashed down the next instant. 

The cabin was obliterated. Heavy wooden beams tumbled endlong down the hillside. Countless shingles scattered in all directions. Frozen shards of plant matter pattered down around them. A cloud of rose petals danced on the breeze. 

Rising from the ground, Fox at last got a good look at his foe. It loomed at least ten meters. What he'd taken to be armor now seemed to be overlapping plates of bark growing directly from the creature. Heavy vines wrapped around Scales' prison, wielding him like a gigantic club. 

The foxes snapped off dozens of shots at the plant's central stalk, but the smoldering pock-marks in the bark armor failed to slow it. Slowly, it began to raise the massive sapphire for another strike.

"Cover me!" Krystal dashed forward, hauling his belt of grenades from the piled wreckage of the cabin. Vaulting on her staff, she soared up in a low-gravity arc to pounce atop the gemstone. She scampered up the arm of the monster, tail streaming like a war banner. 

Teeth gritting, Fox picked off the smaller vines chasing his girlfriend, then held down the trigger for a charge-up shot. The pistol emitted a high-pitched whine. After a breath to steady himself, he squinted past the crackle of energy built up at the muzzle, leveled his weapon, and unleashed the blazing ball of green plasma square into the plant monster's chest plate. The bark exploded outward in a plume of vaporized bio-matter. Sap glopped out of the injury in smoldering blobs. 

The vixen kicked her way into a slide down the vine-arm as the angle became too great. The beep of a grenade being activated perked his ears. Blinking with energy, the white glow of the device flashed in her paw for a scant instant before she slammed it into the gap in the creature's armor. Then, hanging from the staff with her other hand, she rocketed away from the overgrown houseplant.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then a deep noise, like the boom of distant thunder, echoed through the valley. Sap sprayed from even the tiniest gap in the bark, launching various vines free and spiraling into the surrounding landscape. The armored trunk split in half, teetered for a second, then swung with incredible force to the ground. The sound rattled Fox's bones. From limbs of the ancient forest, hundreds of birds took to wing. 

Gobs of goo rained down. Most of it fell in the general vicinity of Fox. General Scales, still trapped in a gemstone, rolled down the hillside and down to a gentle stop in the mulched monster and composted cabin. 

Krystal hovered in for a delicate landing beside her boyfriend. "Nice shot."

"Nice plan." He tried to holster his blaster, but his naked hip didn't cooperate. Just as well—his cold paw wouldn't release its grip on the zapper anyway. "Warn me next time."

"Are you quite alright, love?" Her teal eyes traced him up and down, first appraisingly, then appreciatively. 

"No!" He gesticulated at the mass of plant matter, flummoxed. "What was that?"

"Local flora. I forget the Saurian name for it. Haven't seen one that large, however." She tossed him a gentle smirk. "I thought you were a ground combat expert?"

"When I have clothes on!" He picked his way toward her, not eager to slip on the several centimeters of sap coating the ground. 

A staccato of smaller thunder peals smashed up the hill behind them. 

Fox and Krystal spun to face this new threat.

Tricky bursts through the undergrowth. He paused at the mass destruction and plant goo. "Wow, is this part of your mating ritual or something?" He lifted a foot, a string of tree sap stretching from it to the ground. "Mammal sex is weird."

"Tricky!" Fox covered himself with his blaster, then thought better of it and used his paw. Digging through the shattered rubble, he unearthed a bed sheet and fashioned it into an impromptu toga.

"Whoa! You found Scales!" The dinosaur squished through a bunch of plant goo to examine the huge gemstone, with his old enemy. "Good job, guys! I knew I could count on you."

"I'd say he found us." Krystal, still nude, knelt of place a paw atop the colossal sapphire. 

Fox ran fingers through his head fur. "What made those plants attack us?"

"Haven't you noticed the plants only attack you?" The purple-pink triceratops spun to face him, thick tail scattering a pile of severed vines. "I think it's your alien pheromones." 

The male vulpine twitched his whiskers, keenly aware of his lover's scent on them. "Really?"

"Yeah, yeah!" The dino bounced, shaking the earth again. "Remember those mushrooms that shot spores at you? They don't do that to us; that's why we keep them all over the place."

"I'd be mad, but that actually makes sense." McCloud shook his head. "Sauria has monsters like other planets have coffee shops."

~ ~ ~

Sauria's so weird, even relative to the weirdness of this rainbow-furred talking animal setting. If I lied in the Lylat System, I'd be some kind of dinosaur otaku. Then again, I already am.

Edits: CarlMinez, Eljot001, Slate, SillyNeko345, Pharrox  
Art: Jonas (Used with permission.)

Want to see more like this? Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/Tempo

~ Tempo


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krystal and Fox slow down and enjoy themselves. And each other.

Star Fox: Inertia  
Chapter 14  
by Tempo

~ ~ ~

Fox stood in the warm, shallows of a Saurian lake. Under the water, his tail kept curling to cover his crotch. In his defense, it was exceptionally clear water. Wouldn't want to scandalize a passing pterodactyl.

His girlfriend waded before him, casually scrubbing clean her fur. Sunlight shimmered off the wet fur of her back, toned muscles working under her pelt as she washed. "Still body-shy?"

He blushed. "About my body, yeah." His muzzle aligned to her with a smirk. "About yours, less so."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Well, that's a start."

He'd long since washed the last of the sap from his fur. Really, at this point, he was just wading because the water felt good. Not many chances for a soak in space. Plus, in spite of spending the majority of his life aboard starships, he could appreciate fresh air and running water.

Seeing Krystal _au naturale_ in the midst of nature wasn't bad either. 

"You just defeated a giant monster naked." Coasting to the shallows on minimal movements, she wrung the water out of her tail. "Surely you can sit on a beach with your girlfriend naked."

He glanced down at his body. Weariness aside, he hadn't felt this good in years. "Good point." He sloshed out of the water, across the narrow strip of sand, and onto the grassy embankment. "We don't exactly have fur dryers out here."

With a soft kiss, she settled in beside him. Together, they sat and watched the breeze dance through giant ferns. Those graceful paws set about combing her tail, putting in tail bands: the white and gold ones he liked. 

He leaned over and buried his nose in her drying shoulder. "This is nice."

Her whiskers stirred in a smile. "Nudity has its advantages." 

"Easy access among them." He slipped a paw around her back to grip the far side of her rump. 

"Oooh, not so shy now?"

"Getting less shy all the time." The tip of his cock pressed from its sheath. He propped his flight jacket against a nearby tree for padding and laid back against it. He offered her a paw.

With a look of interest, she took it and let him pull her up onto his lap. "This is nice too." Her fingers interlaced with his.

"Mmm-hmm." He ground against her. His erection thickened in its sheath. Curling his fingers through the back of her hair, he drew her in for a kiss.

She met his lips with a contented sigh. Her soft tongue traced over his. Quickening breaths coursed over his cheek ruffs. 

His erection pressed against his stomach, more than half exposed and fully hard. Still making out with her, he angled it up against her. 

Breaking the kiss, she bucked her hips forward, rubbing her clit along the underside of his cock. 

Fox soon found his balls weren't getting any dryer, being directly under her entrance. He slipped a digit inside to massage around her entrance. 

After a playful squeeze on his fingertip, she relaxed and let him stroke in and out of her. Hand between their thighs, his knuckles brushed the grass at the bottom of each motion. Her chest and stomach rose and fell as she squirmed against his palm. Her happy fox noises kept him fingering her far longer than he'd planned to. 

Once her needful noises started to drive him really crazy, he eased her upward just enough to sneak his erection in to replace his sore and wet fingers. 

Krystal sank down on him with a shudder. She squeezed his paw, gazing down into his eyes as she started to thrust her hips atop him. Again and again, she drove his throbbing length in her waiting folds. Her breasts bounced, just inches from his muzzle.

He captured one nipple in his mouth, gave it a thorough licking, then moved on to the other. 

Slowing to facilitate his initiative, she moaned in appreciation. She rocked atop his lap, over and over, bumping against his growing knot. Her eyes closed in delicious distraction. "Oh, Fox, I need it..."

He grinned through gritted teeth, all shyness lost. His hips slammed into her faster, lewd wet noises competing with the serenity of nature. "Need what?"

A vulpine whine escaped her muzzle. "Your knot..." A hurried breath raced into her. Her hips bounced down for a wiggle atop it. "I need you—oooh— to tie me!" She scraped teeth along her lower lip. "Mmmf!"

Her lustful urging super-charged his libido. He bucked up into her, twisting to press his bulge into her passion-slicked passage. With a final grunt of effort, he slipped past the resistance. Buried fully inside her, his knot swelled with every frantic heartbeat. His heels dug into the grass. His tail lashed as he arched against the tree to press his hips fully to her. Throbs of ecstasy surged up his length. Each pooled more slickness around his cock, granting additional slipperiness to her passage.

For a long moment, they simply breathed. Wind brushed the last of the moisture from their fur, save for the slow seep from where his knot stuffed her entrance. Once he could breathe properly again, he brushed a paw down her toned stomach to casually thumb her clitoris.

The blue vixen reached a paw down and took his. She guided his paw, sometimes harder, sometimes softer, always moving in tight circles over her clit. Different parts of her body twitched as she got closer, closer. More than once, she bounced atop his knot, eyes squinted shut, only to lean back and rub his paw pads with increased vigor. After several lovely minutes, she gasped and hunched over him, whimpering in bliss. She clutched his shoulder, his hand, his knot. Her trembles subsided into leisurely growls of afterglow.

"Mmmmm..." She rested her head atop his ears. 

"Mmm-hmmm..." He stoked her back, muzzle buried in her breasts.

Quiet moments passed with only the whisper of water and wind. 

Her ears lifted. She say up with an amused look, tracing a fingertip down his chest. "Oh, while I've got you here..." She jostled her hips to tug gently at his buried knot. "I got you something." Leaning over, she pulled a small gift-wrapped box from her now-battered backpack. 

Fox reached for the gift, then hesitated a moment.

Her eyebrows rose at his look of slight consternation. "Do you not like opening presents?"

"No, I like it too much." He rolled his eyes. "I have to hold myself back or people like Falco make fun of me."

Tilting the box in her paw, she glanced around the isolated landscape. "Lucky for us, there aren't many people like Falco, especially in the immediate vicinity."

"That is pretty lucky." He kissed her. Then he opened the box. Inside, he found a pair of black aviator sunglasses. "Whoa, these are just like—"

"—the ones you lost on the Great Fox?" Her blue fur fluffed with pride. "Took quite some time to find the old model you liked."

"Wow." He found and squeezed her paw. Nobody usually did sweet little things for him. "Thanks..." His eyes actually felt a little misty.

Luckily, the vixen didn't seem to notice. "It's easy to surprise non-telepaths." She put them on him. 

He bobbed his head, pleased that they didn't slide down. A perfect fit—not unlike the one his knot currently occupied. "They feel just like the old ones."

"I got myself a pair too." She drew a second case from the backpack and put them on with a giggle. "What do you think?"

He smiled back at her, seeing his reflection in the dark glass. "I'd say this is a fair compromise for being naked."

~ ~ ~

The sun set, awash with the colors of an alien world. Tree leaves cast dapples across grassy hillsides. Light rippled across the surface of a lake. On the shore, two foxes poured themselves drinks.

"We could just retire here." Fox placed a straw in a booze-filled dumbledang pod and handed it to her. The breeze teased through his naked fur. He sat back down on the slightly-tattered bed sheet they'd spread over the soft-sanded beach. "At least until the next crisis."

Krystal, likewise nude, cast him a look over her sunglasses. They were his spare sunglasses, technically, but that had been the compromise. "You don't mean that."

He poured a slushy mixture of ice and alcohol in the hollowed-out pod. "I could." With a tired groan, he sat on the towel. His tail found the energy to curl modestly, however, as he glanced around to see if they were had an audience. "You don't know."

"I'm a mind-reader." She took a sip. "I know." Her paw swept toward the lake. "You just got your ship back. You aren't going to just park it by a lake and fish off the back."

"We'd save on fuel." He lifted the striped coconut. "And supplies."

Tapping her drink to his, she lay back against a fabric-draped sand dune. The ruby glow of sundown glinting off her borrowed sunglasses. "Falco would desert."

"Oh nooooo…" Straightening his sunglasses, he sipped at his own drink and looked at her lovely, relaxed form. She always seemed so at ease with herself. He settled in, trying to get his body to feel as comfortable as she looked.

"You would miss your friend." She chuckled and swatted him with a stray shirt. "Stop lying to me."

He leaned back beside her. "I'm not lying to you."

"Then stop lying to yourself in front of me." She looked out over the water, still smiling. "I'm on vacation."

They watched the sun sink over the imperfect mirror of the lake, lying together in a perfect moment. His paw settled into hers. She turned to meet his gaze. The vulpine he glimpsed in the reflection of her sunglasses, at last, looked comfortable in his own fur.

~ ~ ~

Whew! There we go: 14 chapters. Based on word count, this series is officially novel-length now. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of it. ^_^

Edits: Slate, CarlMinez, Eljot001, Pharrox, StarFox94, Sillyneko345  
Art: Fluff-Kevlar (Used with permission.)

Want to see more like this? Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/Tempo

\- Tempo


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